Editing Entheogen (section)

== In religion ==
{{see also|Religion and drugs}}
[[File:Huautla de Jimenez.jpg|right|thumb|[[Huautla de Jimenez Mazatec language|Mazatec]] people performing a Salvia ritual dance in [[Huautla de Jiménez]]]]

Shamans all over the world and in different cultures have traditionally used drugs, especially [[Psychedelic drug|psychedelics]], for their religious experiences. In these communities the absorption of [[Psychoactive drug|drugs]] leads to dreams (visions) through sensory distortion. The psychedelic experience is often compared to non-ordinary forms of consciousness such as those experienced in [[meditation]],<ref name="Robin L 2018">{{Cite journal|last1=Millière|first1=Raphaël|last2=Carhart-Harris|first2=Robin L.|last3=Roseman|first3=Leor|last4=Trautwein|first4=Fynn-Mathis|last5=Berkovich-Ohana|first5=Aviva|date=2018-09-04|title=Psychedelics, Meditation, and Self-Consciousness|journal=Frontiers in Psychology|volume=9|page=1475|doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01475|issn=1664-1078|pmc=6137697|pmid=30245648 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and [[mystical experience]]s.<ref name="Robin L 2018"/> [[Ego dissolution]] is often described as a key feature of the psychedelic experience.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

Entheogens used in the contemporary world include biota like [[peyote]] ([[Native American Church]]<ref name="calabrese">{{cite journal |last1=Calabrese |first1=Joseph D. |title=Spiritual healing and human development in the Native American church: Toward a cultural psychiatry of peyote |journal=Psychoanalytic Review |date=1997 |volume=84 |issue=2 |pages=237–255|pmid=9211587 }}</ref>), extracts like [[ayahuasca]] ([[Santo Daime]],<ref name="santos-et-al">{{cite journal |last1=Santos |first1=R. G. |last2=Landeira-Fernandez |first2=J. |last3=Strassman |first3=R. J. |last4=Motta |first4=V. |last5=Cruz |first5=A. P. M. |title=Effects of ayahuasca on psychometric measures of anxiety, panic-like and hopelessness in Santo Daime members |journal=Journal of Ethnopharmacology |date=2007 |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=507–513 |doi=10.1016/j.jep.2007.04.012|pmid=17532158 }}</ref> [[União do Vegetal]]<ref name="de-rios-and-grob-2005">{{cite journal |last1=de Rios |first1=Marlene Dobkin |last2=Grob |first2=Charles S. |title=Interview with Jeffrey Bronfman, Representative Mestre for the União do Vegetal Church in the United States |journal=Journal of Psychoactive Drugs |date=2005 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=181–191 |doi=10.1080/02791072.2005.10399800|pmid=16149332 |s2cid=208178224 }}</ref>).

Entheogens also play an important role in contemporary religious movements such as the [[Rastafari movement]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chawane |first=Midas H. |year=2014 |title=The Rastafarian Movement in South Africa: A Religion or Way of Life? |journal=Journal for the Study of Religion |volume=27 |number=2 |pages=214–237 }}</ref>

=== Hinduism ===
{{main| Entheogenic use of cannabis}}

[[Bhang]] is an [[cannabis edible|edible preparation]] of [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] native to the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It has been used in food and drink as early as 1000&nbsp;BCE by [[Hindu]]s in [[ancient India]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/httpmunchies-vice-comarticlesthe-bhang-lassi-is-how-hindus-drink-themselves-high-for-shiva/ |title=The Bhang Lassi Is How Hindus Drink Themselves High for Shiva |author=Staelens, Stefanie |website=Vice.com |date=10 March 2015 |access-date=August 10, 2017}}</ref>
The earliest known reports regarding the sacred status of cannabis in the [[Indian subcontinent]] come from the [[Atharva Veda]] estimated to have been written sometime around 2000–1400 BCE,<ref>{{cite book |title= Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World |last= Courtwright |first= David |year= 2001 |publisher= Harvard Univ. Press |isbn= 0-674-00458-2 |page= 39 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=GHqV3elHYvMC&q=Forces+of+Habit&pg=PP10}}</ref> which mentions cannabis as one of the "five sacred plants... which release us from anxiety" and that a guardian angel resides in its leaves. The [[Vedas]] also refer to it as a "source of happiness", "joy-giver" and "liberator", and in the ''Raja Valabba'', the gods send hemp to the human race.<ref name=pmid7024492>{{cite journal |last1=Touw |first1=Mia |title=The Religious and Medicinal Uses of Cannabis in China, India and Tibet |journal=Journal of Psychoactive Drugs |date=January 1981 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=23–34 |doi=10.1080/02791072.1981.10471447 |pmid=7024492 }}</ref>

=== Buddhism ===
It has been suggested that the ''[[Amanita muscaria]]'' mushroom was used by the Tantric Buddhist [[mahasiddha]] tradition of the 8th to 12th century.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Hajicek-Dobberstein | title = Soma siddhas and alchemical enlightenment: psychedelic mushrooms in Buddhist tradition | volume = 48 | issue = 2 | date = 1995 | journal = Journal of Ethnopharmacology | pages = 99–118 | doi = 10.1016/0378-8741(95)01292-L | pmid = 8583800 }}</ref>

In the West, some modern Buddhist teachers have written on the usefulness of psychedelics. The Buddhist magazine ''[[Tricycle: The Buddhist Review|Tricycle]]'' devoted their entire fall 1996 edition to this issue.<ref>Tricycle: Buddhism & Psychedelics, Fall 1996{{full citation needed|date=November 2020}} https://tricycle.org/magazine-issue/fall-1996/</ref> Some teachers such as [[Jack Kornfield]] have suggested the possibility that psychedelics could complement Buddhist practice, bring healing and help people understand their connection with everything which could lead to compassion.<ref>Kornfield, Jack; "Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are", excerpted at {{cite web |url=http://www.jackkornfield.com/psychedelics-antidepressants-spiritual-practice |title=Psychedelics and Spiritual Practice - Jack Kornfield |access-date=28 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141005190548/http://www.jackkornfield.com/psychedelics-antidepressants-spiritual-practice |archive-date=5 October 2014 |df=dmy-all }}/</ref>{{self-published inline|date=August 2016}} Kornfield warns however that addiction can still be a hindrance. Other teachers such as Michelle McDonald-Smith expressed views which saw entheogens as not conducive to Buddhist practice ("I don't see them developing anything").<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stolaroff |first1=M. J. |title=Are Psychedelics Useful in the Practice of Buddhism? |journal=Journal of Humanistic Psychology |volume=39 |issue=1 |year=1999 |pages=60–80 |doi=10.1177/0022167899391009 |s2cid=145220039 }}</ref>

=== Judaism ===
{{main|Cannabis and Judaism}}
[[File:Arad Debir 2.jpg|right|thumb|The shrine at Tel Arad, where the earliest use of cannabis in the Near East is thought to have occurred during the Kingdom of Judah]]

The primary advocate of the religious use of cannabis in early Judaism was Polish anthropologist [[Sula Benet]], who claimed that the plant ''kaneh bosem קְנֵה-בֹשֶׂם'' mentioned five times in the Hebrew Bible, and used in the [[holy anointing oil]] of the Book of Exodus, was cannabis.<ref>Benet, S. (1975). "[https://www.קנאביס.com/wp-content/PDF/EARLY-DIFFUSION-AND-FOLK-USES-OF-HEMP-SULA-BENET.pdf Early Diffusions and Folk Uses of Hemp]", in Vera Rubin; Lambros Comitas (eds.), ''Cannabis and Culture''. Moutan, pp. 39–49.</ref> According to theories that hold that cannabis was present in Ancient Israelite society, a variant of [[hashish]] is held to have been present.<ref>Warf, Barney. "High points: An historical geography of cannabis." Geographical Review 104.4 (2014): 414-438. Page 422: "Psychoactive cannabis is mentioned in the Talmud, and the ancient Jews may have used hashish (Clarke and Merlin 2013)."</ref> In 2020, it was announced that cannabis residue had been found on the Israelite sanctuary altar at [[Tel Arad]] dating to the [[8th century BCE]] of the [[Kingdom of Judah]], suggesting that cannabis was a part of some Israelite rituals at the time.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03344355.2020.1732046|doi = 10.1080/03344355.2020.1732046|title = Cannabis and Frankincense at the Judahite Shrine of Arad|year = 2020|last1 = Arie|first1 = Eran|last2 = Rosen|first2 = Baruch|last3 = Namdar|first3 = Dvory|journal = Tel Aviv|volume = 47|pages = 5–28|s2cid = 219763262|url-access = subscription}}</ref>

While Benet's conclusion regarding the psychoactive use of cannabis is not universally accepted among Jewish scholars, there is general agreement that cannabis is used in talmudic sources to refer to [[hemp]] fibers, not hashish, as hemp was a vital commodity before linen replaced it.<ref>Roth, Cecil. (1972). ''[[Encyclopedia Judaica]]''. 1st Ed. Volume 8. p. 323. {{oclc|830136076}}. Note, the second edition of the ''Encyclopedia Judaica'' no longer mentions Sula Benet but continues to maintain that hemp is "the plant Cannabis sativa called kanbus in talmudic literature", but now adds, "Hashish is not mentioned however in Jewish sources".  See p. 805 in Vol. 8 of the 2nd edition.</ref> Lexicons of Hebrew and dictionaries of plants of the Bible such as by [[Michael Zohary]] (1985), [[Hans Arne Jensen]] (2004) and [[James A. Duke]] (2010) and others identify the plant in question as either ''[[Acorus calamus]]'' or ''[[Cymbopogon citratus]]'', not cannabis.<ref>Lytton J. Musselman ''Figs, dates, laurel, and myrrh: plants of the Bible and the Quran'' 2007 p73</ref>

=== Christianity ===
{{for|non-psychoactive use of wine|Sacramental wine}}
{{see also|real presence of Christ in the Eucharist}}

Scholars such as [[Ammon Hillman]] suggest that a variety of drug use, recreational and otherwise, is to be found in the early history of the Church.<ref>The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization by D. C. A. Hillman PhD{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

The historical picture portrayed by the ''Entheos'' journal is of fairly widespread use of visionary plants in early Christianity and the surrounding culture, with a gradual reduction of use of entheogens in Christianity.<ref>[http://entheomedia.org/Issue%20one.htm Conjuring Eden: Art and the Entheogenic Vision of Paradise] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814121831/http://www.entheomedia.org/Issue%20one.htm |date=14 August 2007 }}, by Mark Hoffman, Carl Ruck, and Blaise Staples. Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Issue No. 1, Summer, 2001</ref> R. Gordon Wasson's book ''Soma'' prints a letter from art historian Erwin Panofsky asserting that art scholars are aware of many "mushroom trees" in Christian art.<ref>[http://www.egodeath.com/WassonEdenTree.htm Wasson and Allegro on the Tree of Knowledge as Amanita] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814053612/http://www.egodeath.com/WassonEdenTree.htm |date=14 August 2007 }}, Michael S. Hoffman, Journal of Higher Criticism, 2007</ref>

The question of the extent of visionary plant use throughout the history of Christian practice has barely been considered yet by academic or independent scholars. The question of whether visionary plants were used in pre-[[Theodosius I|Theodosian]] Christianity is distinct from evidence that indicates the extent to which visionary plants were utilized or forgotten in later Christianity, including heretical or quasi-Christian groups,<ref>[http://entheomedia.org/Entheos_Issue_2.htm Daturas for the Virgin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906191000/http://www.entheomedia.org/Entheos_Issue_2.htm |date=6 September 2007 }}, José Celdrán and Carl Ruck, Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality, Vol. I, Issue 2, Winter, 2002</ref> and the question of other groups such as elites or laity within orthodox Catholic practice.<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594601445 The Hidden World: Survival of Pagan Shamanic Themes in European Fairytales], by Carl Ruck, Blaise Staples, Jose Alfredo Celdran, Mark Hoffman, Carolina Academic Press, 2007{{page needed|date=August 2016}}</ref>

=== Peyotism ===
[[File:Flowering San Pedro cactus.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=text|Flowering [[Echinopsis pachanoi|San Pedro]], an entheogenic cactus that has been used for over 3,000 years.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rudgley|first1=Richard|title=The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances|url=http://www.mescaline.com/sanpedro/|publisher=mescaline.com|access-date=21 May 2015}}</ref> Today the vast majority of extracted mescaline is from columnar cacti, not vulnerable [[peyote]].<ref>{{cite iucn |author=Terry, M. |year=2017 |amends=2013 |title=''Lophophora williamsii'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T151962A121515326 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T151962A121515326.en |access-date=29 October 2018}}</ref>]]

The [[Native American Church]] (NAC) is also known as ''Peyotism'' and ''Peyote Religion''. Peyotism is a [[Native American religion]] characterized by mixed traditional as well as [[Protestant]] beliefs and by sacramental use of the entheogen [[peyote]].

The Peyote Way Church of God believe that "Peyote is a holy sacrament, when taken according to our sacramental procedure and combined with a holistic lifestyle".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://peyoteway.org/|title=The Peyote Way Church of God » Overview|website=peyoteway.org}}</ref>

===Santo Daime===
[[Santo Daime]] is a [[Syncretism|syncretic]] religion founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian [[Amazon rainforest|Amazonian]] [[States of Brazil|state]] of [[Acre State|Acre]] by Raimundo Irineu Serra,<ref>[http://www.mestreirineu.org/galeriamestre.htm Mestre Irineu photos]</ref> known as [[Mestre Irineu]]. Santo Daime incorporates elements of several religious or spiritual traditions including [[Folk Catholicism]], [[Kardecist Spiritism]], African [[animism]] and [[Indigenous peoples of Brazil|indigenous]] South American [[shamanism]], including ''[[vegetalismo]]''.

Ceremonies&nbsp;&ndash; ''trabalhos'' (Brazilian Portuguese for "works")&nbsp;&ndash; are typically several hours long and are undertaken sitting in silent "concentration", or sung collectively, dancing according to simple steps in geometrical formation. Ayahuasca, referred to as [[Daime]] within the practice, which contains several psychoactive compounds, is drunk as part of the ceremony. The drinking of Daime can induce a strong [[vomiting|emetic]] effect which is embraced as both emotional and physical purging.

===União do Vegetal===
[[União do Vegetal]] (UDV) is a religious society founded on July 22, 1961, by José Gabriel da Costa, known as [[Mestre Gabriel]]. The translation of ''União do Vegetal'' is ''Union of the Plants'' referring to the sacrament of the UDV, Hoasca tea (also known as ayahuasca). This beverage is made by boiling two plants, Mariri (''[[Banisteriopsis caapi]]'') and Chacrona (''[[Psychotria viridis]]''), both of which are native to the Amazon rainforest.

In its sessions, UDV members drink Hoasca Tea for the effect of mental concentration.  In Brazil, the use of Hoasca in religious rituals was regulated by the Brazilian Federal Government's National Drug Policy Council on January 25, 2010.  The policy established legal norms for the religious institutions that responsibly use this tea.  The Supreme Court of the United States unanimously affirmed the UDV's right to use Hoasca tea in its religious sessions in the United States, in a decision published on February 21, 2006.

[[File:Peyote Drummer.jpg|thumb|right|upright|A Native American peyote drummer (c. 1927)]]

===Thelema===
{{main|Thelema}}

The Thelema ceremony calls for five officers: a Priest, a Priestess, a Deacon, and two adult acolytes, called "the Children". The end of the ritual culminates in the consummation of the [[eucharist]], consisting of a goblet of wine and a [[Cake of Light]], after which the congregant proclaims "There is no part of me that is not of the gods!"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Liber 15 – The Gnostic Mass |url=https://sacred-texts.com/oto/lib15.htm |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=sacred-texts.com |archive-date=2023-08-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817171155/https://sacred-texts.com/oto/lib15.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>