Psychedelics and Religious Traditions: New Studies and Findings | AAR

Mon, Nov 24
2025

at American Academy of Religion

Boston, MA
More Info / Registration

What do we know about how religious people understand and experience psychedelics?  A new interdisciplinary initiative at the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality, entitled MOSAIC: Psychedelics and Religious Traditions, addresses this question.  This roundtable at the American Academy of Religion conference will present findings from:

  • “Jewish Journeys,” a quantitative study (N=1500) of a diverse range of Jewish Americans.
  • “Varieties of Psychedelic Spiritual Experiences,” psychedelic testimonies from a range of religious experiencers.
  • A population-based survey of Muslim experiences of psychedelics and their impact on faith, integration, and culture.
  • A qualitative study examining former LDS members’ psychedelic experiences
  • A qualitative study of Christian clergy attitudes toward psychedelics.

In addition to illuminating the range of psychedelic religious experiences, these studies will contribute to the provision of culturally competent care for religious psychedelic experiencers who may have spiritual, existential, religious, and theological (SERT) experiences in therapeutic, religious, or recreational contexts.