On Psychedelics, Religion, & Spirituality

Have you ever heard, “I’m not religious, I’m just spiritual” and wondered exactly what that meant? To some, it may make perfect sense, while others are left confused. 

This is probably because religion and spirituality are as varied and unique as human beings themselves. 

The Oxford dictionary described spirituality as being “matters concerning the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things.” 

Anyone familiar with psychedelic healing can see how this definition highlights a direct overlap with psychedelic work because it’s not uncommon for people to seek out a psychedelic experience for matters relating to the heart, “spirit” or “soul,” or even to reconnect to their heart in their own way.

Even if the goal is related to mental or emotional health, people will frequently encounter what are described as spiritual, mystical, religious, or sacred experiences. These terms, though often used interchangeably, each have a unique connotation to them.

Regardless, when talking about mystical or spiritual experiences within the context of psychedelics, it boils down to feeling a connection to something beyond the “self.” That can mean nature, a higher power, even the world around you.

“I believe that most of this work that I’ve seen in my clients and the folks that we have served here through Psychedelic Passage, there is this overlap of this spiritual, or if that’s too strong of a word, soul exploration process, of which then that can connect and relate to things like mental health and emotional health and physical health and physiological health, right?”

Many individuals who identify as non-spiritual or atheist are surprised when their psychedelic experience takes a spiritual turn. An intention to simply address mental health may unexpectedly lead to profound questions about the fabric of reality and humanity’s place within it.

In the context of psychedelics, these experiences often involve a sense of unity consciousness— understanding the unity across yourself and all other things, or non-duality— often relating to ego-death, ultimately breaking down the “illusion of separation.”

It’s important to share that many people seek heroic doses to intentionally experience ego death or ego dissolution, but ego death doesn’t equate to healing, nor is it always defined as mystical, sacred, religious or spiritual. 

Sometimes it can just be downright jarring and scary. What’s most important to share is that experiences are largely defined based on your worldview, which can encompass your stance on religious and spirituality. 

Recommended Reading: Does The Heroic Dose Downplay The Hero’s Journey?

There’s many different ways to evoke a spiritual, mystical or religious experience in everyday life without the use of psychedelics. Giving birth, near-death experiences, significant life events, and rites of passage can all evoke a similar spiritual or religious experience to psychedelics.

Commonalities Between Religion and Psychedelics

Growing up, our cofounder, Jimmy Nguyen, never considered himself a part of an organized religion. His mother growing up in Vietnam got her education from a Catholic school, one of the only ways for children to get an education in Vietnam at that time.

He himself recalls going to the Buddhist temple during significant cultural events in Vietnamese culture, and then growing up on the South Side of Chicago, he found himself surrounded by Catholic friends.  

This broad understanding of religion led him to declare himself as spiritual without adhering to a specific religion, which seems to be a common sentiment growing up in the “melting pot.”

Being spiritual without direction, Nguyen’s own background and beliefs about spirituality, religion, and the freedoms exercised as a part of that, have been largely shaped by his psychedelic experiences.

Spirituality is such a common topic to arise in psychedelic experience in fact, that tools like the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ 30) have been developed for use in clinical and academic research to gauge the subjective level of mystical elements within a psychedelic experience.

Numerous scholars including Catherine McLean, Matthew Johnson and Roland Griffiths have utilized the MEQ 30 in their clinical trials to gain a better understanding of spiritual experiences while under the influence of psychedelics. 

Rick Strassman, an American psychiatrist, pioneered a study on the use of psychedelics, specifically DMT, during end-of-life care or near death experiences and their effect on death positivity and the dying process.

Interestingly, what sparked his interest in this topic was seeing how similar psychedelic experiences can be to experiences resulting from eastern meditative practices (Chavez, 2020).

The History of Psychedelics and Spirituality in the US

The mainstream awareness of psychedelics in the United States is typically traced back to the 1960s, a period marked by counterculture and deep social questioning. 

While modern reverence is always due to Indigenous figures like Maria Sabina, who is credited with introducing intentional, ceremonial psilocybin use to Western culture, the mid-century surge made psychedelics a powerful tool. 

They were utilized both by the government (as seen in programs like MKUltra studying LSD) and by counterculture movements seeking personal and spiritual exploration to challenge prevailing societal norms. 

This era, which saw figures like Ram Dass championing LSD as a spiritual aid and coincided with the rise of yogic and Eastern traditions in America, created a lasting intersection between psychedelics and what is now termed New Age spirituality. 

Crucially, this history underscores the long-standing role of psychedelics as a catalyst for inner exploration and how they relate to the fundamental paradigms of human life, an intersection that continues to influence the ongoing conversation about their use as a spiritual sacrament.

The difference between western and Indigenous cultures, is that there’s hardly a difference between “psychedelics” and “spirituality” in Indigenous cultures. How could there be when they’re considered one in the same?

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)

This federal act was a monumental move by the government in backing up our Constitution and ensuring our religious freedom and rights. 

Before the RFRA, there was the American Indian Religious Freedom Act which was introduced in 1978 and gave Native Americans back their religious rights after previously being prohibited by law. 

The only problem being the lack of reinforcement and standardization, leaving many Native Americans to still suffer persecution at the hands of the US government.

Two landmark cases gave this act the publicity it needed to be taken seriously. The first was Lyng vs. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association in 1988, where they fought to keep a highway from being built through their sacred burial grounds. 

Shortly after in Oregon in 1990, the case of Employment Division vs. Smith was introduced, where two Native Americans were fired from their jobs at a rehab clinic and refused unemployment benefits after testing positive for mescaline, the psychoactive compound in peyote, which they use in their religious ceremonies. 

The court decided against Smith, which outraged political groups of all kinds, from liberal groups like American Civil Liberties Union to conservative groups like the Christian Legal Society and the American Jewish Congress.

This caused the case to gain tremendous publicity, ultimately people came together to fight for the freedom to exercise religion, a clause built into the First Amendment, and a belief which America was built upon. 

The public outcry caused Congress and the President to sign the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. This set a precedent that became the backdrop for psychedelic use in the US today.

Proposition 122: The Natural Medicine Health Act

Colorado now leads the way in policymaking regarding psychoactive plant medicine. In 2022, Proposition 122 passed receiving 51% of the vote, giving adults over 21 in Colorado, the freedom to engage in psychedelics for individual, cultural, or spiritually oriented purposes.

The “rules” and gray areas that still surround psychoactive medicine led some people to start or enter into religious organizations as a means to protect themselves from persecution. 

Many people will become ministers or pastors as a form of protection, but that’s not exactly how the RFRA works, because let’s not forget these substances are still federally illegal.

There’s only 5 organizations that have DEA exemption on a federal level:

• The Native American Church, which has federal legal protection for its use of peyote in religious ceremonies, as reinforced by the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) Amendments of 1994.
• Union de Vegetal, a Brazilian-based Christian spiritist religion that uses the psychedelic brew ayahuasca as a sacrament. In 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal that the government had failed to show a compelling interest in blocking the church’s use of the substance, protecting its right to do so.
• The Church of the Holy Light of the Queen, an Ashland, Oregon, branch of the Santo Daime church, another Brazilian-based religion that uses ayahuasca. A federal court ruling in 2009 granted its members the right to import and use the tea for religious ceremonies, citing the precedent set by the UDV Supreme Court case.
• The Church of the Eagle and the Condor: Following two years of litigation, this church settled with the DEA in 2024 to receive a religious-based exemption for ayahuasca ceremonies. The church incorporates a mix of Shipibo Amazonian and U.S. Native American traditions.
• The Church of Gaia, a Spokane, Washington-based church, was the first to receive a religious exemption for ayahuasca (May, 2022) from the DEA without having to file a lawsuit. 

The details and differences surrounding the federal versus state laws and regulations leave a gray area, meaning the religious exemption for psychedelic use isn’t 100% and it carries inherent risks. 

A Practical Conversation for the Psychedelic-Curious

Having a general understanding of the intersection of spirituality, religion, and psychedelics can help in making informed decisions about your own use, and how to show up in a more respectful way should you decide to engage in a more religious or spiritual context.

Even from an anthropological viewpoint, zooming out to an objective perspective, psychedelics are at a unique intersection across many elements of the human experience, especially the exploration of the self, soul, and the world around us. 

Regardless of your beliefs, psychedelics can offer a unique opportunity to initiate an individual to question their belief structures. This rang true for a quantum physicist who came to Psychedelic Passage looking to broaden their understanding of reality. 

They had felt like they had taken the mathematical and scientific perspective as far as it could go, and now it was time to move into the next frontier of psychedelic exploration. Their psychedelic experience magnified their curiosity about the fabric of reality, but also enriched their understanding of it. 

The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey is as widespread in psychedelics as it is in religious contexts. We see this theme across a variety of religions, like Jesus in Christianity, Buddha or Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, and even Hercules. 

In a psychedelic context, one comes into a psychedelic experience with their own set of trials and tribulation, and then comes out of that experience having learned something that allows us to return back to our baseline with new tools or lessons.

“The psychedelic experience is really just a microcosm of the life experience.”

Our experiences under psychedelic influence are often just manifestations of elements we see in everyday life experience, just in a specific timeframe within an altered state of consciousness.

As we switch from an altered state to our baseline, it’s natural to then question what’s important to you, whether it’s family, purpose, career, etc. 

Pitfalls to be Aware of 

Psychedelic Superiority: Sometimes, people can get a chip on their shoulder. Psychedelic superiority means thinking you are A. morally, spiritually or ethically superior to others because you engage in psychedelics or B. psychedelics are better than any other substance.

Power can be intoxicating, so it’s important to note that psychedelics have been used for thousands of years. No one is better because they engage with them, and psychedelics have nothing inherently to do with ascribing to a new way of life or spirituality.

This is especially important to be aware of with people in power or in positions of authority. Do not be afraid to question your facilitator or guide, because some people respect others beliefs, and some people don’t. 

Some may inadvertently impose their beliefs on someone else, so being in a position of power requires constant and honest self-evaluation.

Recommended Reading: Navigating Power Dynamics in Psychedelic Therapy

“Meeting God”: Many people seek out psychedelics as a means to “meet God,” whatever that might mean for them. The issue is when they set that intention, and it doesn’t happen. The second issue is that people may think “meeting God” gives them a sense of superiority over others. 

“In my own psychedelic experiences, they have been so humbling for me to realize that I actually don’t know any better than the person who’s next to me engaging in the psychedelic experience. Or just because I’ve probably had several hundred psychedelic experiences and supported several hundred folks through psychedelic experiences, that doesn’t mean that I’m somehow superior to the person who’s having an experience for the first time.”

Psychedelics aren’t a replacement for spirituality, their true power lies in their ability to impact one’s exploration of their self. 

Regardless of the context or container in which you use psychedelics, the same basic issues arise: power, consent, sovereignty, and autonomy. Is psychedelic use making you a better person?

The Psychedelic Renaissance: Spiritual Roots, Self-Love, and Full Potential

Explore the many ways humans have engaged in psychedelics, and what the path forward may look like.

• What Role Have Psychedelics Played Throughout Human History? Humanity has had a long, strange journey, in which psychedelics played many roles.
• Nothing Can Replace Self-Love: Self-love isn’t just about positive thinking, your physical health is imperative to loving yourself.
• The Technological Revolution and its Benefits: How do we embrace technology in a way that allows us to better interact with psychedelics?
• Post-Trip Emotional Processing: Explore the many different types of psychedelic integration and how they affect you after a psychedelic experience.
• Ensuring Ethical Facilitation: Hear straight from the horse’s mouth what proper psychedelic facilitation should and shouldn’t look like.
• The Mind Body Connection: Learn how emotions can affect our bodies and what emotional release may look like.
• Reach Your Full Potential: Psychedelics not only can help heal from trauma, but they can assist you in becoming the best version of yourself!

Connect With The Psychedelic Coach That’s Right for You

Hi there! We sincerely hope that you’ve found valuable takeaways that resonate with your current intentions. To explore research-based education, stay updated with psychedelic news, and benefit from practical how-to articles, we encourage you to head over to our resources page.

If you’re seeking personalized advice and are prepared to take the first step toward a therapeutic psychedelic experience, we invite you to book a consultation with our team of experienced psychedelic concierges.

This consultation is more than just a conversation; it’s an opportunity to be matched with a trustworthy local facilitator. You’ll be seamlessly connected to our rigorously vetted network of psychedelic guides, ensuring potential matches align with your needs.

Psychedelic Passage offers confidence and peace of mind by alleviating the burden of having to guess who’s right for you. If you want to discover how Psychedelic Passage can help you, we empower you to learn more about our services and check out client testimonials from those who’ve gone before you.

Your healing path is uniquely yours, and our commitment is to serve you at every juncture. Psychedelic Passage: Your Psychedelic Concierge — The easy, legal way to find trustworthy psilocybin guides, facilitators and psychedelic assisted therapy near you in the United States.

Client Testimonial:

“My guide was the perfect person to guide me to and through my first mushroom ceremony. From our first chat, she listened as I explained my goals to create a greater sense of connectedness and purpose in my life and then worked to help me clarify my intentions, adding insights that helped it all to come together as I prepared for ceremony. On the given day, I felt safe, cared for and completely comfortable. I had an amazing, immersive and inspiring experience that I am still processing in so many different and positive ways. Integration, both before and after ceremony, is so important. This is not a recreational experience. This is a deep, transformational journey that needs real attention to truly benefit from. My guide was perfect for a first-time ceremony, particularly if you are navigating this process, and psychedelics, either for the first time or coming back to psychedelics many (many) years later. I am a female professional and business owner in my mid-60’s who is considering retirement, next steps and later-life goals and my guide was the ideal partner for my journey – so much so that I intend to return soon to continue my journey. If you have any concerns or fears about whether psychedelics are the right choice for you at this time in your life, talk to Psychedelic Passage. You’ll know right away whether it is the right journey for you.” — Psychedelic Passage Client

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does the common phrase “I’m spiritual, but not religious” mean in the context of psychedelics?

This phrase highlights a core distinction in the psychedelic space. Religion often implies adherence to an organized, institutionalized system of beliefs, while spirituality (defined as “matters concerning the human spirit or soul”) is a personal exploration of the self, meaning, and connection to something beyond the material. 

For many, psychedelics offer a direct path to this personal “soul exploration,” linking the mind, heart, and body, which they may then integrate into their lives without ever joining an organized religion.

2. Can I have a spiritual or “mystical” experience on psychedelics even if I am an atheist or non-spiritual?

Yes. The article notes that many individuals who identify as atheist or non-spiritual are surprised when their psychedelic experience takes a spiritual turn. 

These experiences often involve feelings of “unity consciousness” or non-duality—a profound sense of connection to everything—which are inherent effects of the substance, regardless of your personal beliefs or intentions. 

The experience may unexpectedly lead to profound questions about reality, even if the initial goal was purely therapeutic.

3. Does seeking an “ego death” experience guarantee healing or a spiritual breakthrough?

No. While many people seek “heroic doses” to intentionally achieve ego death or ego dissolution, the article stresses that this state is not synonymous with healing, nor is it automatically defined as mystical or spiritual.

Ego death can sometimes be “downright jarring and scary.” The experience itself is not the cure; its value is determined by your worldview and the subsequent process of integration (learning from and incorporating the lessons).

4. How does the concept of the “Hero’s Journey” apply to a psychedelic experience?

The Hero’s Journey, a theme common across religious and mythical contexts (like the stories of Jesus or Buddha), is seen as a microcosm of the life experience in the psychedelic realm. 

An individual enters the experience with their trials and tribulations, confronts them in the altered state, and then returns to their baseline with new tools or lessons learned. 

The true power lies in the process of questioning what is important to you—family, purpose, or career—after the experience, much like a hero returning with wisdom for their community.

5. What is “Psychedelic Superiority,” and why is it a pitfall to avoid?

Psychedelic Superiority is the belief that one is morally, spiritually, or ethically superior to others simply because they engage in psychedelics, or that psychedelics are inherently better than any other substance or spiritual path. 

Remember, psychedelics have been used for thousands of years and have no inherent connection to moral superiority. It is a critical pitfall, particularly when dealing with facilitators or guides, who must constantly practice self-evaluation to ensure they don’t inadvertently impose their beliefs on someone else.

Chavez, J. (2020, September 11). 16 Questions with Dr. Rick Strassman – DMT QUEST. Dmtquest.org. https://dmtquest.org/16-questions-with-dr-rick-strassman/

Employment Div. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990). (2019). Justia Law.  https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/494/872/ 

Lyng v. Northwest Indian Cemetery Protective Association, 485 U.S. 439 (1988). (n.d.). Justia Law. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/485/439/

Pew Research Center. (2022, December 21). Key Findings from the Global Religious Futures Project. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/12/21/key-findings-from-the-global-religious-futures-project/

Revised Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ-30) – Psychology Tools. (2012, December). Psychology Tools. https://psychology-tools.com/test/meq-30

Strassman, R. (2022). The Psychedelic Handbook. Simon and Schuster. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nAtJEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=DMT+end-of-life+rick+strassman+university+of+new+mexico&ots=jgj_UzpYbs&sig=aSmIw49_JqvH48AYtF_bGKY3I9g#v=onepage&q=DMT%20end-of-life%20rick%20strassman%20university%20of%20new%20mexico&f=false