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? Get the show notes for this episode at: https://www.churchandculture.org/church-culture-podcast-archive/2026/5/29/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? Get the show notes for this episode at: https://www.churchandculture.org/church-culture-podcast-archive/2026/5/29/on-psychedelic-churches
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