CCP197: On Psychedelic Churches

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the rise in popularity of a very unusual type of church in the U.S. - psychedelic churches. The largest church of this kind is Zide Door Church of Entheogenic Plants in Oakland, CA, which currently has about 130,000 members and “places psilocybin mushrooms at the center of their religious practice” according to an episode on NPR. Now the drugs aren't free, of course - you have to pay for the service. So is there anything beyond the obvious that is a draw for people to attend a church like this? Episode Links There are two other articles that you may find helpful to read related to today's conversation, particularly tied to the legality of psychedelic churches: Hayley Sanchez, “This church holds psychedelic rituals. But that's not what keeps people coming back,” NPR. Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly, “Inside the US's psychedelic church boom, where taking drugs is legal,”The Guardian. There are three past podcast episodes that we'd suggest you go back and listen to if you missed them. The first is a recent episode that Alexis mentioned: CCP195: On Dreams and Interpreting Dreams. The second is a look at whether it's okay for a Christian to partake in using drugs and alcohol: CCP74: On Smoking Marijuana and Drinking Wine. And finally, as the conversation touched on hypnosis you can check out this one: CCP3: On Hypnosis and Meditation. Dr. White steered the conversation to the importance of fasting found throughout the Bible, and how this is such a contrast from what the psychedelic churches are pursuing. He did a series at Mecklenburg Community Church that you may be interested in checking out called “Fast Forward,” which you can find HERE. For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday. We'd also love to hear from you if there is a topic that you'd like to see discussed on the Church & Culture Podcast in an upcoming episode. You can find the form to submit your questions at the bottom of the podcast page HERE.