Griffiths et al.’s Study of Psilocybin with Religious Professionals: A Theological Response from a Christian Perspective

Griffiths et al.’s recent “Effects of Psilocybin on Religious and Spiritual Attitudes and Behaviors in Clergy from Various Major World Religions” is an important study in the literature on psychedelic medicine and religious experience. In this commentary on the study, we argue: (1) The study design’s implicit presupposition of perennialism in its conception of mysticism burdens it with metaphysical and theological freight it doesn’t need to support its hypothesis; and (2) Psychedelic usage in pursuit of mysticism, however construed, risks two pathologies—hyper-individualism and idolatry—that religious traditions and communities are well-positioned to counter.