{"id":2429066,"date":"2025-04-30T07:13:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T11:13:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fans-of-psychedelics-claim-religious-protections\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T07:18:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T11:18:40","slug":"fans-of-psychedelics-claim-religious-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fans-of-psychedelics-claim-religious-protections\/","title":{"rendered":"Fans Of Psychedelics Claim Religious Protections"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffans-of-psychedelics-claim-religious-protections%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2429066&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In February, a group named Singularism won a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-court-to-hear-heartbeat-abortion-ban-arguments-next-month\/\" title=\"Ohio court to review &#039;heartbeat&#039; abortion ban arguments in upcoming month.\">significant legal battle<\/a> under Utah&#8217;s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), claiming police infringed upon their rights by confiscating illegal magic mushrooms used in their religious practices. A federal judge ruled that Singularism consisted of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-blocks-vaccine-mandate-for-health-workers-in-new-york\/\" title=\"... Blocks Vaccine Mandate For Health Workers In New York\u00a0\">sincere religious beliefs<\/a> and ordered the return of their items, despite the government&#8217;s characterization of the group as a drug-dealing operation.This ruling sets a concerning precedent as a movement led by elites, including scholars and entrepreneurs, aims for broader legalization of psychedelics in the U.S., especially as traditional religious participation declines.<\/p>\n<p>During the 21st century, church attendance in America has decreased sharply, while those identifying as non-religious have increased substantially. This cultural shift has coincided with a surge of interest and research into psychedelics, potentially linked to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiktok-is-catastrophically-harmful-to-young-people-regardless-of-who-owns-it\/\" title=\"TikTok&#039;s Impact on Youth Is Deeply Troubling, Ownership Aside\">rising mental health issues<\/a>. Institutions like Johns Hopkins University have explored the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics, with claims that substances like MDMA could help treat conditions like PTSD.<\/p>\n<p>Following singularism&#8217;s victory, discussions have emerged promoting the idea that psychedelics can facilitate spiritual experiences and empower religious revitalization. Events like a Harvard-sponsored symposium have attracted advocates, including Christian proponents who argue that psychedelics can reinvigorate faith, and even Jewish leaders viewing the movement as a way to reconnect those affected by trauma to their traditions.<\/p>\n<p>Though, concerns regarding safety, ethics, and the potential commercialization of these substances persist, with some advocating for thoughtful, cautious engagement with psychedelics in religious contexts. Observers note that while there is room for alternative spiritual practices, the initial intent of safeguarding religious freedoms should not devolve into profit-driven or insincere pursuits. The ongoing discussions reflect broader societal questions about the intersection of spirituality and substance use.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In February, a group called Singularism scored a troubling&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/caselaw.findlaw.com\/court\/us-dis-crt-d-uta\/116998560.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">victory<\/a>&nbsp;under the Utah Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), claiming police violated their rights by confiscating otherwise&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archive\/ndic\/pubs6\/6038\/index.htm#:~:text=Yes%2C%20psilocybin%20is%20illegal.,purpose%20in%20the%20United%20States.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">illegal<\/a>&nbsp;magic mushrooms (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/health-canada\/services\/substance-use\/controlled-illegal-drugs\/magic-mushrooms.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">psilocybin<\/a>) used for tea ceremonies and their &ldquo;scriptures&rdquo; (recorded insights during trips). A mental health counselor had allegedly formed the organization to alleviate suffering and facilitate practitioners&rsquo; (called &ldquo;voyagers&rdquo;) connections with themselves and God.<\/p>\n<p>A federal judge ordered the return of the items, rejecting the government&rsquo;s argument that Singularism was &ldquo;essentially a drug-dealing business in a minister&rsquo;s robe.&rdquo; The judge further found that Singularism held sincere religious beliefs and that each day the group was &ldquo;deprived of the sacrament they suffer harm to their religious exercises.&rdquo; Although the judge noted that individuals could perhaps achieve the same experiences from meditation, as opposed to illegal drugs, she said &ldquo;most people do not have that luxury of time,&rdquo; accurately distilling the zeitgeist of American obsession with a quick fix. And then she called it religion.<\/p>\n<p>Litigation continues, but meanwhile, the decision sets a disturbing precedent. And a movement is afoot to capitalize on the win. Led by well-funded educated elites that includes scholars, lawyers, religious leaders, and entrepreneurs, the goal is obtaining widespread U.S. legalization of psychedelics.<\/p>\n<p>How did we get here?<\/p>\n<p>During the 21<sup>st<\/sup>&nbsp;century, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/642548\/church-attendance-declined-religious-groups.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">percentage<\/a>&nbsp;of Americans attending religious services steadily shrank, while the percentage of those claiming no religion more than doubled. Christianity in particular has been in rapid decline. In 2007, 78 percent of U.S. adults identified as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2025\/02\/26\/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Christians;<\/a>&nbsp;in 2024, that number had dropped to 62 percent.<\/p>\n<h2>Expanding Research into Psychedelics<\/h2>\n<p>As memory of Nixon&rsquo;s &ldquo;war on drugs&rdquo; faded and the mental and physical health challenges of Americans began to reach crisis levels, research on psychedelics exploded.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/psychiatry\/research\/psychedelics-research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Johns Hopkins University<\/a>&nbsp;was the first to acquire regulatory approval to study psychedelics and claims psychedelics may help smokers quit, ease cancer anxiety, suppress depression, etc. Before his death,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/myhealth101.org\/roland-griffiths-reflects-on-scientific-investigations-of-psychedelic-awakening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Roland Griffiths<\/a>, the agnostic scientist who&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/21\/health\/psychedelics-roland-griffiths-johns-hopkins.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ran<\/a>&nbsp;the show, made the tall&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=LKm_mnbN9JY&amp;t=1109s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claim<\/a>&nbsp;that psychedelics may be &ldquo;critical to the survival of the human species.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Over the last few decades, <a href=\"https:\/\/psychedonia.com\/top-universities-researching-psychedelics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">research<\/a>&nbsp;exploded; companies&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jipel.law.nyu.edu\/patenting-psychedelic-drugs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">grabbed<\/a>&nbsp;patents. Biden signed funding&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/ajherrington\/2023\/12\/27\/biden-signs-defense-spending-bill-funding-psychedelic-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bills.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bookings for psychedelic&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/11\/25\/travel\/psychedelic-retreat-ayahuasca.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">retreats<\/a>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/luxury-psychedelic-mushroom-retreat-ceos-founders-journeymen-collective-common-takeaways-2025-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">outside<\/a> the U.S. increased&nbsp;200 percent&nbsp;in the last two years, with a four-day journey at one luxury establishment starting at $15,000. The global market for psychedelic drugs was $3.07 billion in 2024. It&rsquo;s projected to increase to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.databridgemarketresearch.com\/reports\/global-psychedelic-drugs-market?srsltid=AfmBOooLj1ECipEU2uUrWw3neinyplEg8ga3Eq7E6CxDRUCrCO3fKwLs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$8.35 billion<\/a> by 2032.<\/p>\n<p>And then the big moment came, last year, when drugmaker&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/lykospbc.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lykos<\/a>&nbsp;Therapeutics sought approval for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/archive\/ndic\/pubs3\/3494\/index.htm#:~:text=Yes%2C%20MDMA%20is%20illegal.,serve%20no%20legitimate%20medical%20purpose.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ecstasy<\/a>, &nbsp;illegal under the Federal Controlled Substances Act, for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. After an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/shots-health-news\/2024\/08\/09\/nx-s1-5068634\/mdma-therapy-fda-decision-ptsd-psychedelic-treatment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FDA committee<\/a>&nbsp;recommended rejecting the application, the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/fda-panel-rejects-attempt-to-use-psychedelic-drug-for-ptsd-treatment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FDA<\/a>&nbsp;followed suit, citing safety concerns and insufficient data. It was a crushing blow to those who had their sights on gaining legitimacy through medical means.<\/p>\n<h2>Supporters Claim Drugs are Divine<\/h2>\n<p>But a parallel track for legality had been brewing, with claims that people taking psychedelics had encountered the divine. A few weeks after the Utah decision, movers and shakers met to strategize. Harvard Law School sponsored the sold-out March&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychedelicsandreligion.info\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">symposium<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In 1993, Congress had passed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/IF11490#:~:text=As%20a%20result%20of%20the,local%20laws%20of%20general%20applicability.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Religious Freedom Restoration Act<\/a> (RFRA), which provided that the federal government could not substantially burden an individual&rsquo;s exercise of religion unless the burden was by the least restrictive means and furthered a compelling government interest. Thus far, very few exemptions have been granted and primarily relate to Native American religious practices. Most&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/becketfund.org\/research-central\/rfra-info-central\/map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">states<\/a>&nbsp;have now adopted RFRAs too.&nbsp;Pockets of psychedelic&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/colorado-psychedelic-mushrooms-healing-centers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legalization<\/a>&nbsp;are also cropping up in states such as Colorado and Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>At the symposium, lawyer Victoria&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tricycleday.com\/p\/psychonaut-pov-d50b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Litman<\/a>&nbsp;opined that she believes state law holds the best promise for decriminalization. She also indicated that churches formed as charitable nonprofit organizations may not be required to show sincerity of religious belief (a key component in the Utah decision) to receive tax-exemption.<\/p>\n<p>Christian psychedelic believers spoke enthusiastically about the potential to reinvigorate Christianity with psychedelic journeys. Hunt Priest, an Episcopal priest who runs an educational psychedelic&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ligare.org\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nonprofit<\/a> organization,&nbsp;was part of a Johns Hopkins&rsquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">clergy study ten years ago<\/a>, which he claims was life-changing. He argued that the Christian church has engaged in healing since the days of Jesus. It&rsquo;s time to build a &ldquo;Christian container&rdquo; for psychedelics, he urged. Ron Cole-Turner, professor emeritus at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, believes liberal Protestants will probably be most receptive to Thursday night sessions in the &ldquo;basement of the church,&rdquo; asserting that many who reject the idea come from a place of ignorance or war on drugs mentality. But philosophy professor Bryan McCarthy thinks he can make the case to conservatives, maybe even Catholics.<\/p>\n<p>Other Christian presenters analogized psychedelic experiences and practices to mainstream Christian worship, lining up their evidence. For example, Baptist minister Jaime Clark-Soles said scripture is replete with instances of non-ordinary states of consciousness, pointing to Paul&rsquo;s conversion experience, Mary&rsquo;s encounter with Gabriel, and the resurrection. &ldquo;Mystery&rdquo; is mentioned 24 times in the Bible, she said, along with &ldquo;secrets&rdquo; of the Kingdom of God. Blasphemy?<\/p>\n<p>Although the percentage of Jews in the U.S. is small, religious observance has also been&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com\/empty-pews-the-decline-of-religion-in-america\/#:~:text=If%20anything%2C%20these%20trends%20are,ages%20of%2018%20and%2029.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declining.<\/a>&nbsp;Rabbi Zac&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shefaflow.org\/media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kamenetz<\/a>&nbsp;called the psychedelic movement a &ldquo;recovery mission&rdquo; for Jews. Natalie&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/maps.org\/people\/natalie-lyla-ginsberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ginsberg<\/a>&nbsp;said psychedelics can be a bridge for integrating Jews suffering from intergenerational trauma back into traditional Judaism. Author Madison Margolin noted her hippie father was friends with Ram Dass and said her psychedelic journey started &ldquo;in the womb.&rdquo; During the panel discussion, she observed that no one had mentioned God. A cue to stay on message?<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, a number of symposium participants reiterated the need for safety protocols. Even the industry has acknowledged&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/maps.org\/safety\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lapses<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Pushback<\/h2>\n<p>It&rsquo;s unknown whether a counter movement is developing. But there has been pushback. A former college of Griffiths&rsquo; at Johns Hopkins filed an ethics complaint concerning the studies. An&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/21\/health\/psychedelics-roland-griffiths-johns-hopkins.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">expos&eacute;<\/a>&nbsp;reported that a wealthy philanthropist apparently participated in both research and widespread funding. A former Harvard Divinity School&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychedeliccandor.org\/p\/the-religious-science-of-johns-hopkins-f60\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">student<\/a>&nbsp;involved in the psychedelic work has made a host of challenges. Another&nbsp;psychedelic&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bioneers.org\/ideological-risks-psychedelics-spiritual-inflation-utopianism-paranoia-conspiracy-thinking\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">insider<\/a>&nbsp;has questioned the &ldquo;large-scale appropriation of indigenous practices by &lsquo;first-world&rsquo; people&rdquo; with so-called &ldquo;messianic&rdquo; views.<\/p>\n<p>Amid the questions and serious concerns, it&rsquo;s hard to envision the upside potential outside of Wall Street, if there is one. It&rsquo;s much easier to foresee where all this might lead.<\/p>\n<p>The federal RFRA was initially passed to ensure protection for religious freedom. Likewise, for state statutes. The intent was not to open the door either to profits or false prophets taking notes during psychedelic trips and calling it &ldquo;scripture.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>After Mother Teresa died, I was surprised to learn about her decades-long&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/4126238\/mother-teresas-crisis-of-faith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dark night<\/a>&nbsp;of the soul, during which she couldn&rsquo;t feel God&rsquo;s presence. But imagine our loss and hers if she&rsquo;d been convinced psychedelics were the answer.<\/p>\n<p>For Christians, such practices diminish the holy and the sacred, wrenching the mystery from God&rsquo;s hands, when being filled with the Holy Spirit and nothing else is God&rsquo;s plan.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Beverly Willett is the author of &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1642931500\/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1551102625&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=Beverly+Willett\">Disassembly Required: A Memoir of Midlife Resurrection<\/a>.&rdquo; She has written for The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Washington Examiner, First Things, The New York Post, and many more. A former NYC litigator and copyright attorney, she co-founded the Coalition for Divorce Reform. Contact her at <a href=\"https:\/\/beverlywillett.com\/\">beverlywillett.com<\/a> and follow her on X <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BeverlyWillett\">@BeverlyWillett<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In February, Singularism won a concerning case under Utah&#8217;s RFRA, asserting police infringed on their rights by seizing illegal magic mushrooms used in ceremonies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2799,"featured_media":2429067,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Psychedelic_mushrooms-1-1-e1745849292879.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[13501,32779,54327,10248,28923],"class_list":["post-2429066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-consciousness","tag-legal-issues","tag-psychedelics-2","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Psychedelic_mushrooms-1-1-e1745849292879.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2799"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2429066"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2429071,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2429066\/revisions\/2429071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2429067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2429066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2429066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2429066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}