The Future Church and Psychedelics
Maybe I’m old fashioned, but I think of church as a place where people go to feel closer to God. Churches offer a respite from a chaotic world, encouragement to the weary, and even a source of inspiration. For many, it may be enough to sing songs, hear an encouraging word, and socialize a bit. There is also a growing, untapped desire, among the churched and unchurched alike, to have a genuine spiritual experience, an encounter with their living God or Ultimate Reality.
Brain images show little-to-no neurological difference between someone having a “legitimate spiritual experience” (such as one derived from a deep meditative state) and someone who has a “spiritual experience” on psychedelics. (1) In research surveys, psychedelic experiences are often described as the most spiritually significant event of their lives. (2) Participants also report having more positive views on nature and increased creativity. (3) Like a mystical experience, psychedelics can shift the lenses of perception, revealing a new way of looking at oneself and the world.
This second wave of psychedelic research is showing efficacy in treating disorders such as PTSD (4), depression (5), and addiction (6). (*) While medical needs will always be first-use, healthy adults should also have the opportunity to explore their own subconscious, as well as their higher conscious. Since these experiences are often described in ‘spiritual’ or ‘mystical’ terms, the church seems like a natural place to facilitate them. Being able to offer psychological and spiritual healing within a supervised, supportive community would be an incredible boon to churches and their congregants.
Of course, the most immediate problem is that psychedelics are a Schedule 1 drug. To operate legally, churches need to apply for a religious exemption under the “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” (RFRA). This is even harder than it sounds. The DEA has provided guidance for the licensing process, although they still have not written clear regulations and there are no time limits for review. This fuzziness in the law makes it difficult and expensive for an applicant. To my knowledge, only three exemptions have been granted, ever.
The first exemption was relatively easy; the Native American Church has been in existence for over one-hundred years and has a long tradition of using peyote in ceremonies. After lengthy legal fights, Santa Daime and Uniao do Vegetal (UDV) were both granted permission to use ayahuasca under the RFRA. (It took a Supreme Court ruling for the UDV to gain approval, and it was unanimous.) These sanctioned churches are still subject to strict oversight regarding the procurement, storage, and dissemination of their sacrament, as well as their membership rolls.
The DEA has taken on the tough (some say unnecessary) assignment of determining the legitimacy of applicants. To be fair, many “churches” are looking for a loophole to become an unlicensed dispensary. If unable to show a long history of usage within their religion, the church must articulate why an entheogen is essential to their belief system. At the same time, they are legally required to put aside their “essential” sacrament until a ruling is made. All the while, they must subject themselves to depositions and put themselves squarely on the radar of the DEA.
Not surprisingly, many churches opt to sidestep these legal hoops. Instead, they have workshops, circles, and retreats. Some continue to meet in secret groups, probably not too dissimilar to the way other religious sects started out, including Christianity. A few of these have a liturgy that shares some similarity to a traditional church, albeit with a much more potent sacrament. If one of these groups could develop into an exemptible church, they would have a rare opportunity to become an accepted, even valued member of their community.
As consciousness expands and society become more tolerant and open-minded, perhaps psychedelics will be decriminalized, making religious exemption moot. At the very least, restraints should be loosened, allowing legitimate churches to find their way in this new world where ancient traditions and modern chemistry meet. After all, the First Amendment protects freedom of religion and the right to worship. (7) Individuals seeking greater understanding can only be a net benefit to a society in desperate need of healing and peace.
My next article will consider what psychedelic or entheogenic churches might look like in the (near) future. Please follow or subscribe below…
Footnotes:
1. Robin L. Carhart, Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, Neural correlates of the LSD Experience revealed by multimodal neuroimagin, PNAS, April 12, 2016
2. Roland R. Griffiths, Survey of subjective “God encounter experiences”: Comparisons among naturally occurring experiences and those occasioned by the classic psychedelics psilocybin, LSD, ayahuasca, or DMT. National Library of Medicine, April 23, 2019.
3. Samuli Kangaslampi, PhD, Mystical Experiences in Retrospective Reports of First Times Using a Psychedelic in Finland. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, June 28, 2020, Volume 52, Issue 4. Pages 309–318
4. E. Vermetten, E. Krediet, T. Bostoen, Psychedelics in the treatment of PTSD. National Library of Medicine, 2020;62 (8):640–649
5. Natalie Gukasyn, Alan K. Davis, Efficacy and Safety of Psilocybin-Assisted treatment for major depressive disorder: Prospective 12 month follow-up. Journal of Psychopharmacology. February 15, 2020.
6. Michael Winkelman, Psychedelics as medicines for Substance Abuse Rehabilitation: evaluating treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine, and Ayahuasca. Natural Library of Medicine, 2014;7(2):101–16.
7. “The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for redress of grievances.” The Bill of Rights, Constitution of the United States of America, 1791.
- There are many studies on the medical benefits of various psychedelics. For a more updated/complete information on research, the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), founded by Rick Doblin in 1986, has been at the forefront of re-emerging field of psychedelics. Also, Michael Pollen’s book, How To Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us about Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence (Penguin Press, 2018) gives an excellent overview of the seminal studies and researchers in this field.
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