A psychedelic church, also known as an entheogenic church, is a church or religious organization that incorporates the use of psychedelic drugs in its religious practices. They provide psychedelic drugs such as ayahuasca, psilocybin-containing mushrooms, and peyote to their members and operate either legally or illegally depending on the jurisdiction and licensing.
The first formal psychedelic churches started in the early 1900s, for instance the first peyote church in 1914 and the Native American Church (NAC) in 1920. Psychedelic churches are rapidly on the rise as of the 2020s in the United States and Canada.
List of psychedelic churches United States Cantelmoism (Chris Cantelmo) (Los Angeles, California) (2018–2019) – dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Céu do Beija-Flor (Massachusetts) (1988–1990) – ayahuasca Chapel of Sacred Mirrors (CoSM) (Wappingers Falls, New York) (founded in 1996 by Alex Grey and Allyson Grey) – various Church of Ambrosia (Zide Door, Church of Entheogenic Plants) (San Fran./Oakland, California) – psilocybin mushrooms, cannabis, others Church of Gaia (Spokane, Washington) – ayahuasca Church of the Celestial Heart (CCH) (Lebec, California) – ayahuasca Church of the Eagle and the Condor (CEC) (Phoenix, Arizona) – ayahuasca Church of the Holy Light of the Queen (CHLQ) (Ashland, Oregon) – ayahuasca Church of the Sacred Synthesis (formerly Church of Psilomethoxin) (Austin, Texas/nationwide) – psilomethoxin (claimed but disputed) Church of the Tree of Life (California) (1971–1990) – various Dog Commune (Los Angeles, California) (late 1960s) – LSD Flor da Mãe Divina (Flower of the Divine Mother; FDMD) (Redondo Beach, California) – ayahuasca League for Spiritual Discovery (LSD) (founded 1966 by Timothy Leary in New York) – LSD Ledgeway Sangha (Austin, Texas) – 2C-B, 6-APB Mycelian Church of San Francisco (San Francisco, California) – psilocybin-containing mushrooms Native American Church (NAC; Peyotism, Peyote Religion) (many locations) – peyote Native American Church of New York (NACNY) (New York City, New York) (1976–1979) – peyote Supplemental Video Neo-American Church (Original Kleptonian Neo-American Church; OKNeoAC) (~1965–present) – various Oratory of Mystical Sacraments (OMS) (Shiprock, New Mexico/nationwide) – psilocybin-containing mushrooms Peyote Way Church of God (Aravaipa Valley, Arizona) (1977–present) – peyote Psychedelic Venus Church (PVC; PsyVen) (Berkeley, California) (1970–1973) – cannabis, others Sacred Garden Community (SGC) (Oakland, California) – various Soul Quest Ayahuasca Church (Orlando, Florida) – ayahuasca Temple of Eden (Los Angeles, California) – 5-MeO-DMT, others Temple of the True Inner Light (TTIL) (New York City, New York) (1980–present) – dipropyltryptamine (DPT), others União do Vegetal (UDV) (United States branches) – ayahuasca Many others
Brazil Santo Daime – ayahuasca União do Vegetal (UDV) – ayahuasca
Japan Aum Shinrikyo – LSD, mescaline, others
See also Psychedelicism Psychedelic syndrome Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches
References
External links Psychedelic Churches - PsyBear