drug cult

Introduction
Types of drugs used by cults
- Hemp, mushrooms, cacti, and their derivatives
- Other psychedelic substances
Goals of practitioners
- Ecstasy and union with the divine or sacred
- Purification, healing, and divination
- Witchcraft and magic
- Psychological goals
History of drug use in religion

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drug cult

Also known as: pharmacological cult

Written by

Walter Houston Clark

Professor of the Psychology of Religion, Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Massachusetts, 1962–67. Author of Chemical Ecstasy: Psychedelic Drugs and Religion.

Walter Houston Clark

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

drug cult, group using drugs to achieve religious or spiritual revelation and for ritualistic purposes. Though the idea may be strange to most modern worshippers, drugs have played an important role in the history of religions. The ceremonial use of wine and incense in contemporary ritual is probably a relic of a time when the psychological effects of these substances were designed to bring the worshipper into closer touch with supernatural forces. Modern studies of...

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