The Chemical Clergy: Psilocybin and the Divine Experience

What happens when faith meets chemistry? A recent study at Johns Hopkins invited religious leaders with no prior experience of psychedelics to undergo guided psilocybin sessions—and many emerged describing the visions as among the most profound spiritual moments of their lives. In this episode, we explore how these experiences reshaped prayer, deepened feelings of connection to the divine, and fostered unexpected common ground across different faith traditions. At the same time, the story examines why traditionalists remain wary of drug-induced revelation, and what it means when mystical experience is mediated by science rather than discipline alone. The result is a provocative glimpse into how ancient questions about God, transcendence, and authority are being reframed in the laboratory.https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/08/21/high-priests-why-scientists-gave-magic-mushrooms-to-the-clergy