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Psychedelic Mystical Experience: A New Agenda for Theology

Ron Cole-Turner

Religions May 1, 2022 DOI: 10.3390/rel13050385 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Review Peer reviewed
Topics Mystical experience
Citations 22
Key findings Psychedelic research since 2006 links these drugs to mystical experiences and potential mental health treatments, challenging drug policy and prompting religious and scholarly engagement.

Abstract

When the link between psychedelic drugs and mystical states of experience was first discovered in the 1960s, Huston Smith challenged scholars in religion and philosophy to consider the implications. Very few took up his challenge. Beginning in 2006, hundreds of studies have linked psychedelics not just to mystical states of experience but to potential treatments for many mental health disorders. Regulatory approval for therapies is on the horizon, and hundreds of millions of people worldwide could be treated. Research findings challenge the underlying rationale of the War on Drugs, leading to decriminalization of specific psychedelic drugs or to authorization of their use in mental health contexts. Religious institutions are slowly adapting, with some referring to psychedelics as sacraments or as pathways to deeper spirituality. Religious leaders are also beginning to speak out publicly in support of careful use of these drugs, and some are training to become “psychedelic chaplains” to work alongside mental health professionals administering these drugs. Scholars in theology and religion are encouraged to engage these trends, to explore challenging philosophical and theological issues surrounding mystical states of experience in general, and to consider the long-term cultural impact of the most recent psychedelic research.

Comparable studies

Other narrative reviews on mystical experience, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Classic psychedelics: An integrative review of epidemiology, therapeutics, mystical experience, and brain network function. General population 2019 Integrative review
Classic Hallucinogens and Mystical Experiences: Phenomenology and Neural Correlates. 2018 Review
Peak experiences and the afterglow phenomenon: When and how do therapeutic effects of hallucinogens depend on psychedelic experiences? 2015 Review
Are “mystical experiences” essential for antidepressant actions of ketamine and the classic psychedelics? 2024 Review
Predictors and potentiators of psychedelic-occasioned mystical experiences 2022 Review

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Mystical experience Mysticism Psychedelic-assisted therapy