The Case for Religious Use of Psychedelics: Beyond the Medical Model
In recent years, psychedelics have resurfaced in public consciousness as powerful tools for healing and transformation, after being maligned and prohibited for decades. As scientific studies continue to reveal the profound effects on mental health of substances like psilocybin, MDMA, and other compounds, the debate over their appropriate use has intensified. Two models dominate this discussion: the medical model, which seeks to control access through clinical and pharmaceutical means, and the religious/indigenous model, which frames psychedelics as sacred sacraments, to be used within spiritual contexts. While the medical model promises structured, evidence-based access to these substances, it is the religious model that truly aligns with the full potential of these molecules as instruments of deep healing, community connection, and spiritual growth. Here’s why the religious use of psychedelics is superior to the medical model.
Psychedelics as Sacraments, Not Pharmaceuticals
At their core, psychedelics are not just chemical compounds that treat specific ailments; they are tools that open the doors of perception, allowing individuals to connect with the deepest aspects of their being, their spirit, and their connection to the universe. For thousands of years, indigenous cultures across the world have recognized this, using psychedelics in ritualistic, spiritual contexts for healing, divination, and communion with the divine. Whether in the form of psilocybin mushrooms, peyote, or ayahuasca, these substances have traditionally been viewed as sacred medicines, or sacraments, not mere treatments. Compounds made in laboratories like MDMA and LSD evoke the same connection to the sacred in the proper setting and should be included in our sacramental thinking.
The medical model, by its very nature, reduces psychedelics to another tool in the pharmaceutical toolkit. This reductionist approach focuses on specific symptoms—such as depression, PTSD, or anxiety—and treats psychedelics like antidepressants, with clinical trials, standardized doses, and controlled therapeutic environments collapsing the potential of these compounds into mere symptom reduction. While there is value in scientific rigor, this approach strips psychedelics of their soul. It overlooks the broader, more transformative potential of these substances as catalysts for personal and spiritual growth, community healing, and connection to something greater than oneself. Psychedelics invite participants to engage with the mysteries of life and consciousness, something that the sterile clinical setting simply cannot offer.
The Limitations of the Medical Model
The medical model, particularly in the United States, is heavily regulated and profit-driven. While there are efforts to make psychedelics available through therapeutic models, the process of getting approval from the FDA for substances like MDMA or psilocybin is lengthy, complex, and expensive. It’s estimated that the cost of undergoing psychedelic-assisted therapy in a clinical setting, once approved, will be $48,000 per patient. The cost of the drug MDMA alone is estimated at ~$12,000 for three dosing sessions. This creates a significant barrier to access, especially for the most vulnerable populations who may stand to benefit the most from these treatments. Veterans, those struggling with addiction, trauma survivors, prisoners, and marginalized communities may be priced out of receiving care in a medicalized model. As a comparison, the cost of MDMA for three dosing sessions in an underground or religious ceremony is typically $250.
In addition, the clinical setting itself can limit possibilities. Psychedelics are not traditional pharmaceuticals that work independently of their surroundings. The set (the mindset of the participant) and setting (the environment in which the experience occurs) are crucial factors in shaping the outcome of a psychedelic experience. A clinical office, no matter how well-intentioned, lacks the sacred, communal, and natural environments that accompany the use of these substances in religious contexts. The medical model often isolates the individual, treating them as a patient rather than a participant in a shared, communal experience. The medical model reinforces our culture’s disconnected individualism that is often at the root of depression and anxiety. Healing, in many cases, is not an individual endeavor but one that requires the support and presence of a community. This is something the religious model inherently recognizes.
Religious Freedom and the Legal Framework
The United States provides robust legal protections for religious practice through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) of 1993. Under RFRA, any government action that interferes with a sincerely held religious belief must meet two stringent tests: it must serve a compelling governmental interest, and it must be the least restrictive means of achieving that interest. This creates a powerful legal framework for the religious use of psychedelics, as demonstrated by cases such as the UDV Church, which won the right to use ayahuasca in religious ceremonies in the United States, and the Native American Church’s protected use of peyote.
In fact, the religious use of psychedelics, excepting ketamine, is currently the only fully legal framework for accessing these substances in the U.S. A recent example is the Church of the Eagle and the Condor, which won a settlement with U.S. Customs and Border Protection co-signed by the Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Department of Homeland Security agreeing that a shipment of ayahuasca was wrongfully seized. The government acknowledged that the church had a right to use the sacrament in religious ceremonies, provided they followed certain safety protocols to ensure the substance did not reach the general public. This settlement–the first ever outside of a court order–sets a path for religious use for similar churches and congregations who wish to use psychedelics in a spiritual context, bypassing the long wait and high cost associated with medical approval.
The Communal Nature of Religious Use
One of the most profound aspects of psychedelics is their ability to foster deep connections—both within oneself and with others. In traditional indigenous settings, these substances are rarely used alone. They are taken in community, often in ceremonial or ritualistic settings where participants can share their experiences, support one another, and integrate their insights in a collective space. This communal aspect is essential for the full healing potential of psychedelics. Healing is not just an individual process, but a relational one. It happens through connection, support, and the feeling of being part of something larger.
The religious use model recognizes this communal aspect, providing a shared, sacred space for individuals to come together in their journeys of healing and growth. The medical model is typically focused on the individual patient, sometimes isolating them from the broader community of healing. Even in the context of the medical model, some recent, emergent work has begun to explore the value of group therapy. Psychedelic sacraments, used in a religious context, offer a way for people to reconnect with their community, nature, and the divine—something that is sorely lacking in the modern, fragmented world.
The Urgency of Now
The need for healing — individual, communal, and cultural — is urgent, especially among vulnerable populations such as veterans, trauma survivors, prisoners and those with mental health challenges. In the United States alone, 18 veterans die by suicide every day. The approval process for medical use of psychedelics, while promising, is slow and cumbersome. With the FDA’s recent request for more data from Lykos Pharmaceuticals before approving MDMA, the road just got longer. Meanwhile, people continue to suffer.
The religious model has decisively provided a way for several pathbreaking churches (Native American Church, Santo Daime, UDV, and now The Church of the Eagle and the Condor) to legally use psychedelics as sacraments. For hundreds of other religious communities already registered in the United States, religious use under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 provides a plausible, immediate, accessible framework for religious use. Religious communities are already offering psychedelic sacraments in safe, controlled environments. There is no need to wait for the gears of bureaucracy to turn when religious freedom protections allow for these substances to be used now.
Finally, the spiritual dimension of healing cannot be overstated. Psychedelics offer more than just relief from symptoms; they provide a profound sense of connection, purpose, and meaning. In a time of increasing isolation, division, and existential anxiety, the opportunity to engage with these sacraments in a religious context is not only healing for the individual but also for society as a whole.
A Pathway to Transformation
The religious use of psychedelics offers a more authentic, accessible, and holistic path to healing than the medical model. While the medicalization of psychedelics may offer some benefits in the long term, it is slow, expensive, and reductionist in nature. Psychedelics are not just medicines; they are sacraments that connect us with our deepest selves, each other, and the divine—the basic hallmarks of any religion. In a world in desperate need of healing and wholeness, we cannot afford to wait. The religious model offers a pathway to spiritual, communal, and individual transformation—something the medical model, with all its limitations, cannot fully provide. It’s time to honor these substances for what they truly are: sacred sacraments that can heal both the soul and society.