An online survey of ayahuasca users found that non-religious individuals tend to become more religious after experiencing entity encounters while under the influence of the substance. Although men were less likely to be religious before these experiences, gender differences in religious beliefs disappeared after the encounters. The research was published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.
Ayahuasca is a traditional psychoactive brew made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis leaf, used for centuries in Amazonian spiritual and healing ceremonies. It contains DMT (dimethyltryptamine), a powerful hallucinogen, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) from the vine that make DMT orally active.
The experience typically involves intense visual and emotional effects, self-reflection, and sometimes physical reactions such as vomiting or diarrhea, known as “purging.” Ayahuasca is traditionally consumed in ceremonial settings led by shamans or facilitators who guide participants through the psychological journey.
During ayahuasca experiences, many users report vivid encounters with perceived entities or beings—often described as spirits, guides, animals, ancestors, or alien-like intelligences. These entities are frequently experienced as autonomous, emotionally engaging, and capable of communication, sometimes offering insights, guidance, or healing.
While some interpret these encounters as spiritual or metaphysical in nature, others view them as complex manifestations of the subconscious mind. Neuroscientific explanations suggest they may arise from altered activity in brain regions related to agency, social cognition, and imagination under the influence of DMT.
Study author Yitong Xin and her colleagues note that existing evidence suggests acute psychedelic effects have the potential to transform religious beliefs, and that gender may be an important factor influencing certain psychedelic outcomes. With this in mind, they conducted a study to investigate whether religious beliefs change after an entity encounter during an ayahuasca experience—and whether these changes differ between men and women.
The study included 415 ayahuasca users recruited as part of a larger survey project. Their average age was 39 years, and 61% were male. Seven percent had an advanced professional or doctoral degree, 21% had a master’s degree, and 31% held a bachelor’s degree. About 43% were married or living with a partner.
Participants reported their religious identity both before and after their ayahuasca entity encounter. They were asked whether they identified as atheist, agnostic, having religious beliefs in something that might be called ultimate reality, a higher power, God, or a universal divinity, or “other.”
Results showed that before the entity encounter, 20% of men and 8% of women identified as atheists, while 27% of men and 23% of women identified as agnostics. This indicated that men were generally less religious than women.
After the entity encounter under the influence of ayahuasca, the proportion of men identifying as atheists dropped to 7%, while the proportion of women dropped to 3%. Similarly, the share of agnostics declined to around 11–12% among both men and women. Correspondingly, more participants reported having religious beliefs.
“Findings from this study suggest that sex is associated with perceived changes in religious beliefs from before to after an entity encounter experience among ayahuasca users. Specifically, males demonstrated greater changes in religious beliefs compared to females, suggesting differences in how males respond to the effects of ayahuasca and in how they interpret associated spiritual experiences,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on how religious beliefs may shift following entity encounters during ayahuasca experiences. However, it is important to note that the study did not include a control group, so it remains unclear whether the observed changes in religious identity were directly caused by the entity encounters or by other factors that may have coincided with the experience.
The paper, “Sex Differences in Religious Beliefs Before and After an Entity Encounter During an Ayahuasca Experience,” was authored by Yitong Xin, Roland R. Griffiths, and Alan K. Davis.