The Role of Psychedelics in the Development of Human Religious Practices: The Innate Human Quest for Transcendence

The Role of Psychedelics in the Development of Human Religious Practices explores how mind-altering substances have shaped humanity’s search for the sacred. Drawing on neuroscience, archaeology, ethnopharmacology, and art history, Denis Pavăl offers an accessible, balanced synthesis of a rapidly evolving field. This Brief examines the phenomenology and neuropharmacology of psychedelic experiences, evaluates claims about their historical use in ritual and religion, and addresses the current psychedelic renaissance. Challenging both uncritical enthusiasm and outright skepticism, it provides a concise, evidence-based guide for researchers, clinicians, students, and readers interested in consciousness, spirituality, and the origins of religious practice across cultures worldwide.

Denis Pavăl, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist and faculty member at the “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, where he combines academic teaching with active clinical practice. His research is firmly grounded in neuroscience, with a particular emphasis on the biological mechanisms underlying major psychiatric disorders. Dr. Pavăl has an extensive publication record in internationally indexed journals and contributes regularly to leading neuropsychiatric conferences. His scholarly interests also extend to the neuroscience of religion, where he examines how brain processes inform spiritual experience and the development of belief systems.