An intimate relationship between holy men and “drugs” may at first seem incompatible. The psychological constructs existing within popular religion that discourage or forbid drug use may make it difficult to imagine the once common scenario of a high priest drinking a psychedelic tea and “tripping out” for the purposes of spiritual enlightenment. Yet, before the prevalent meme suggesting that accessing valuable levels of consciousness through plant substances was dangerous or evil, this method of attaining enlightenment was a deeply revered and widespread practice. As historians piece together a more complete view of religious influences through combined knowledge from disciplines such as etymology, anthropology, and theology as well as a willingness to consider ideals beyond the common paradigms, the influential role of entheogens in history is being revealed as ubiquitous.


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