Secular Mysticism: Entanglements of Science and Religion in Psychedelic Medicine.
Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry April 29, 2026 DOI: 10.1007/s11013-026-09988-x (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Qualitative study and ethnographic research Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Participants in a psychedelic church, a psychedelic-assisted therapy training program, and psychedelic science conferences in the United States |
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key findings | The mainstreaming of psychedelic medicine is creating new forms of secular mysticism in an age of disenchantment. |
Abstract
Psychedelic medicine is a rapidly growing, billion-dollar industry poised to transform mental health care by incorporating spiritual experiences into clinical psychiatry. However, while the blending of psychiatry and mystical experience has long made this field unique, the blurred boundaries between science and spiritual practice have sparked increasing public debate. What does the entanglement of science and religion in psychedelic medicine reveal about the concerns, anxieties, and yearnings of our contemporary social and political moment? This article draws on an analysis of public discourse alongside ethnographic and qualitative research within a psychedelic church, a psychedelic-assisted therapy training program, and psychedelic science conferences in the United States. Through stories of the intertwining of science and religion, psychotherapy and mysticism, and attempts to distinguish between drugs, medicine, and sacraments in both clinical and non-clinical spaces, I argue that the mainstreaming of psychedelic medicine is not only shifting paradigms of mental health care but also creating new forms of secular mysticism in an age of disenchantment.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative and Quantitative Features of Music Reported to Support Peak Mystical Experiences during Psychedelic Therapy Sessions Individuals with extensive experience administering psilocybin or psilocybin-containing... | 2017 | Survey and qualitative/quantitative analysis | n = 10 |
| Common Core Thesis and Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Mysticism in Chinese Buddhist Monks and Nuns Chinese Pure Land and Chan Buddhist monks and nuns | 2011 | Mixed-methods study | n = 139 |
| Do Drugs Have Religious Import? A 40-Year Retrospective | 2004 | Interview | |
| Narratives of the mystical among users of psychedelics Psychedelic drug users | 2021 | Qualitative study | n = 50 |
| Auras in mysticism and synaesthesia: a comparison. Synaesthetes who experience colors in response to human faces and figures | 2012 | Qualitative study | n = 4 |