Entheogenic Spirituality: Characteristics of Spiritually Motivated Psychedelics Use

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant characteristics for 228 Internet survey respondents (grouped according to motivation for entheogen use).^a

	Spiritually motivated users (N = 158)	Non-spiritually motivated users (N = 70)	Diff.
Age	M = 34.6, SD = 12.6	M = 35.3, SD = 11.9	p = .53
Gender	16% female, 82% male, 3% other	23% female, 76% male, 1% other	p = .22^c
Education	5% PhD 14% Master’s degree 24% Bachelor’s degree 33% some university 18% high school 6% not completed high school	6% PhD 21% Master’s degree 21% Bachelor’s degree 41% some university 9% high school 1% not completed high school	p = .07
Religious background^b	15% Buddhist	3% Buddhist	p < .01
	20% Christian	26% Christian	p = .36
	4% Hindu	1% Hindu	p = .26
	4% Jewish	0% Jewish	p = .10
	3% Muslim	1% Muslim	p = .40
	20% New Age/Alternative	9% New Age/Alternative	p = .03
	40% Buddhist	14% Buddhist	p < .01
Religious affiliation at present^b	16% Christian	14% Christian	p = .68
	15% Hindu	10% Hindu	p = .29
	6% Jewish	3% Jewish	p = .36
	3% Muslim	3% Muslim	p = .90
Geographical location at present	33% New Age/Alternative	17% New Age/Alternative	p = .02
	57% North America	47% North America	p = .17
	23% Western Europe	44% Western Europe	p < .01
	5% Eastern Europe	1% Eastern Europe	p = .20
	9% Oceania	6% Oceania	p = .42
	2% Middle East	0% Middle East	p = .25
	2% South America	0% South America	p = .25
	1% Africa	1% Africa	p = .55
	1% Asia	0% Asia	p = .35
Personality traits	3.65 Extraversion	4.16 Extraversion	p = .01
	4.91 Conscientiousness	4.99 Conscientiousness	p = .71
	5.99 Openness	5.65 Openness	p = .01
	4.95 Agreeableness	4.45 Agreeableness	p < .01
	4.78 Emotional stability	5.00 Emotional stability	p = .25
	35.65 Risk taking	32.71 Risk taking	p = .02

The “Diff.” column indicates significant difference between the two groups on the Mann-Whitney U test, with significant values indicated in bold (p <= .05). ^aSums may differ from 100% because of rounding. ^bMay sum to more than 100% because respondents could choose several alternatives. ^cOther gender (N = 7) excluded. M = mean. SD = standard deviance.

Table 2. Spiritual or religious background and present affiliation.

	Background	Present affiliation	Change
Buddhism	10%	29%	+19%	***
Christianity	23%	18%	− 5%
Hinduism	3%	12%	+9%	***
Islam	2%	3%	+1%
Judaism	2%	5%	+3%
New Age/Alternative	16%	27%	+11%	***

N = 289. Stars indicate significant difference on the paired t-test between background and present affiliation: * p < = .05, ** p < = .01, *** p < = .001.

Table 3. Mystical experience as predictor of spiritual conversion in multivariate logistic models.

	Conversion to Buddhism (N = 195)			Conversion to Hinduism (N = 212)			Conversion to New Age/Alternative (N = 183)
	B	SE	p	B	SE	p	B	SE	p
Intercept	−.833	1.658		.234	2.032		−2.793	1.980
Age	−.339	.170	*	−.232	.202		.018	.163
Education	.186	.159		−.150	.202		.076	.186
Extraversion	−.132	.128		−.124	.166		−.236	.156
Conscientiousness	−.297	.153		−.103	.199		−.249	.177
Openness	.141	.202		−.192	.231		.360	.251
Agreeableness	.293	.149	*	.149	.181		.020	.167
Emotional stability	−.122	.137		.154	.182		−.005	.167
Risk taking	−.027	.026		−.062	.035		−.001	.029
Mystical experience	.467	.103	***	.503	.130	***	.243	.111	*

Results from multivariate logistic models containing 9 independent variables: age, education (quantified from 1 = “Have not completed high school” to 6 = “PhD”), the Big Five personality traits, the overall Risk Taking score (RTI), and an indicator for mystical experience that combines the three experiential characteristics ego death or dissolution, contact with transcendent forces, and unity with transcendent forces. The dependent variable is a dichotomous indicator for having a current affiliation to Buddhism (model Nagelkerke R-square = .27), Hinduism (model Nagelkerke R-square = .20) or New Age/Alternative (model Nagelkerke R-square = .12) among those respondents who did not report having a background in these forms of spirituality. Values in bold represent statistically significant associations. B = unstandardized regression coefficient, SE = standard error, * p  < = .05, ** p  < = .01, *** p  < = .001.

Table 4. Motivation for psychedelics use grouped according to spiritual motivation.

	Non-spiritually motivated users (N = 70)		Spiritually motivated users (N = 158)
Adventure	39%	**	60%
Curiosity	27%	***	52%
Ego death experience	21%	***	52%
Fun/party/recreation	49%		38%
Insight and understanding for personal growth	60%	***	94%
Psychological self-exploration	71%	**	90%
Socializing	27%		21%
To cure or heal medical conditions	10%	**	25%
To cure or heal personal problems	24%	***	53%
To forget or escape from personal problems	7%		8%

Stars indicate significant difference on the independent t-test between spiritually and non-spiritually motivated respondents.

* p  < = .05, ** p  < = .01, *** p  < = .001.

Table 5. Characteristics of a typical psychedelic experiences grouped according to spiritual motivation.

	Non-spiritually motivated users (N = 64)		Spiritually motivated users (N = 156)
Anger or hate	2%		3%
Confusion	17%		26%
Contact with non-ordinary beings	11%	***	31%
Contact with transcendent forces	11%	***	43%
Disgust	2%		6%
Ego death or dissolution	19%	**	38%
Fear	13%	**	28%
Feeling of homecoming or return to your essence	42%	***	67%
Feeling of isolation from other people	11%		13%
Improved connection with nature	55%	***	83%
Improved connection with other people	58%		71%
Inner visions	41%	**	63%
Insight into the world	56%	***	87%
Insight into your relations	69%		76%
Insight into yourself	80%		88%
Joy	77%		87%
Love	63%	**	82%
Peace	70%	**	87%
Regrettable behavior toward others	11%		4%
Sadness	14%		21%
Surprise	25%	***	49%
Unity with transcendent forces	17%	***	51%
Words cannot describe the experience	33%	**	55%

Stars indicate significant difference on the independent t-test between spiritually and non-spiritually motivated respondents.

* p  < = .05, ** p  <  = .01, *** p  < = .001.

Table 6. Spiritual motivation as predictor of entheogenic experience in multivariate logistic models.

	Contact with non-ordinary beings			Contact with transcendent forces			Ego death or dissolution
	B	SE	p	B	SE	p	B	SE	p
Intercept	−3.934	1.617	*	−5.346	1.479	***	−3.714	1.335	**
Age	.183	.138		.098	.127		.157	.123
Education	−.293	.154		.017	.136		.078	.132
Extraversion	−.274	.124	*	−.258	.113	*	−.016	.107
Conscientiousness	.141	.145		.057	.130		.132	.125
Openness	.687	.218	**	.515	.194	**	−.109	.169
Agreeableness	−.397	.143	**	−.133	.128		−.012	.125
Emotional stability	.162	.135		.030	.121		−.127	.115
Risk taking	−.016	.023		.033	.021		.067	.022	**
Spiritual motivation	1.311	.485	**	1.600	.456	***	.904	.393	*
Escapist motivation	.526	.618		−.226	.600		−1.145	.692

N = 220.Results from multivariate logistic regression models. Each model contains 10 independent variables: age, education (quantified from 1 = “Have not completed high school” to 6 = “PhD”), the Big Five personality traits, the overall Risk Taking score (RTI), a dichotomous variable for spiritual motivation (1 = yes), and a dichotomous variable for escapist motivation (1 = yes). Results from three models are shown, one for each of three dependent variables: contact with non-ordinary beings (model Nagelkerke R-square = .24), contact with transcendent forces (model Nagelkerke R-square = .24), and ego death (model Nagelkerke R-square = .15). Values in bold represent statistically significant associations. B = unstandardized regression coefficient, SE = standard error, * p  < = .05, ** p  <  = .01, *** p  < = .001.

Table 7. Consequences of psychedelics use grouped according to spiritual motivation.

	Non-spiritually motivated users (N = 62)		Spiritually motivated users (N = 151)
Physical health	3.34	***	3.79
Psychological health	3.97	***	4.38
Spiritual practice	3.40	***	4.09
Ability to get along with people	3.82	*	4.12
Personal happiness	3.95	***	4.40

Numbers indicate average scores on a five-level Likert scale (from 1 = “Serious worsening” or similar to 5 = “Serious improvement” or similar). Stars indicate significant difference on the independent t-test between spiritually and non-spiritually motivated respondents: * p  < = .05, ** p < = .01, *** p  < = .001.

Table 8. Spiritual motivation as predictor of consequences of entheogen use in linear multivariate regression models.

	Spiritual practice			Psychological health			Personal happiness
	B	SE	p	B	SE	p	B	SE	p
Intercept	2.928	.482	***	3.433	.452	***	3.158	.410	***
Age	−.063	.046		−.074	.043		−.052	.039
Education	.022	.049		−.010	.046		.019	.042
Extraversion	−.048	.038		−.077	.036	*	−.062	.033
Conscientiousness	.073	.046		.025	.043		−.012	.039
Openness	.061	.061		.190	.057	***	.084	.052
Agreeableness	−.024	.045		−.019	.042		.037	.038
Emotional stability	−.073	.041		.024	.039		.022	.035
Risk taking	.010	.008		−.005	.007		.012	.006
Spiritual motivation	.355	.137	**	.254	.129	*	.241	.117	*
Escapist motivation	.091	.206		−.542	.193	**	−.100	.175
Mystical experience	.159	.030	***	.049	.028		.055	.026	*

N = 213.Results from multivariate logistic regression models. Each model contains 11 independent variables: age, education (quantified from 1 = “Have not completed high school” to 6 = “PhD”), the Big Five personality traits, the overall Risk Taking score (RTI), a dichotomous variable for spiritual motivation (1 = yes), a dichotomous variable for escapist motivation (1 = yes), and an indicator for mystical experience that combines the three experiential characteristics ego death or dissolution, contact with transcendent forces, and unity with transcendent forces. Results from three models are shown, one for each of three dependent variables: spiritual practice (model adjusted R-square = .26), psychological health (model adjusted R-square = .15), and personal happiness (model adjusted R-square = .13). Values in bold represent statistically significant associations. B = unstandardized regression coefficient, SE = standard error, * p < = .05, ** p < = .01, *** p < = .001.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in figshare at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13121846.v1