Psychedelics linked to religious disaffiliation—but not spiritual change—in large-scale study

A new study published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality examined whether psychedelic use is associated with changes in religious beliefs and spiritual identity. Analyzing two large birth cohorts in the United Kingdom and a longitudinal survey in the United States and United Kingdom, researchers found that people who had used psychedelics were more likely to report religious disaffiliation—but psychedelic use was not associated with changes in spirituality or religiosity over time.

Classic psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin have long been associated with mystical or spiritual experiences. Many studies have examined how these substances affect perceptions of meaning, self, and the transcendent. But few have asked whether psychedelic use leads to actual changes in religious identity or beliefs in everyday life.

“As both a psychology researcher and rabbi, I was interested in life experiences that influence religious and spiritual development. With the resurgence of psychedelic research, there has been much discussion about the intersection of psychedelics and spirituality, and very little research had examined long-term patterns,” said study author Aaron D. Cherniak, a PhD candidate at Stockholm University, research fellow at Reichman University, and director of research at Shaare Nefesh Resilience Center.

To investigate, the researchers conducted two complementary studies. The first drew from two nationally representative birth cohort studies—the 1958 National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study—each with over 11,000 participants. The goal was to explore whether people who had used psychedelics differed in their religious affiliation, and whether they were more likely to report switching, leaving, or joining a religion. The second study was a two-month longitudinal survey of 9,732 adults in the United Kingdom and United States, looking at whether recent psychedelic use predicted changes in self-identified religiosity or spirituality.

In Study 1, the researchers used long-term data from the cohort studies to compare participants who reported lifetime use of psychedelics—specifically LSD and psilocybin—with those who did not. They found that people who had used psychedelics were more likely to report being religiously unaffiliated both in childhood and adulthood. Psychedelic users were also more likely to report religious disaffiliation—shifting from a religious identity in childhood to no religious affiliation in adulthood.

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Interestingly, LSD use was also associated with switching between religious affiliations and, in one of the cohorts, joining a religion after being raised without one. However, these patterns were not unique to psychedelics. Similar associations were found for other illicit substances such as cannabis and amphetamines. This suggests that psychedelic use may not have distinct effects on religious change, but rather reflect broader patterns related to drug use and social norms.

In addition to changes in affiliation, the researchers also looked at belief in God and the afterlife. Those who had used psychedelics were more likely to say they did not believe in God or were unsure of God’s existence. They were also less likely to believe in life after death. Again, this was consistent with broader patterns among users of various illicit substances.

Study 2 explored whether psychedelic use was associated with short-term changes in religious or spiritual identity. The researchers recruited representative samples of adults in the United States and United Kingdom and surveyed them twice, two months apart. They asked participants how religious and how spiritual they considered themselves to be and whether they had used psychedelics in the past two months.

At baseline, people who had recently used psychedelics were less likely to identify as religious, but slightly more likely to identify as spiritual. However, when the researchers followed up two months later, they found no evidence that psychedelic use had led to changes in either religiosity or spirituality. People’s self-identification as religious or spiritual remained relatively stable, regardless of whether they had used psychedelics.

Taken together, these findings suggest that psychedelic use is associated with long-term religious disaffiliation, but not with dynamic or immediate shifts in how religious or spiritual people feel. The associations with religious change also appear to mirror those of other illicit substances, which complicates any assumption that psychedelics uniquely influence religious belief.

“Contrary to popular belief, using psychedelics does not automatically lead people to become more religious or spiritual,” Cherniak told PsyPost. “For some, it may affirm previously held beliefs or reduce attachment to traditional or institutional religiosity, but not more than the consumption of other illicit substances.”

The researchers highlight that while psychedelics can elicit experiences that feel spiritual or religious in the moment, these do not always translate into lasting changes in religious identity. Instead, the social and cultural context—such as whether someone grows up in a religious household, or lives in a secular society—may be a more powerful influence on how psychedelics are interpreted and whether they prompt shifts in worldview.

“Psychedelic experiences are deeply personal,” Cherniak said. “Whether they lead to more spiritual openness or disillusionment often depends on factors like your personality, your beliefs before the experience, and your intentions for using them. Psychedelics may offer powerful and transformative experiences, but they don’t reliably lead to deeper faith or spiritual awakening. They seem to amplify what’s already there or open space for rethinking one’s worldview, in unpredictable directions.”

The study has several strengths. It includes large, nationally representative samples and uses both retrospective and prospective data. It also carefully compares psychedelics with other substances to clarify whether any effects are specific or general to drug use.

“Most studies in this field rely on people looking back and describing how psychedelics changed them,” Cherniak said. “This one is different—it tracked people over time in a large population-based sample and followed a strict scientific plan (a preregistered design), making the findings more trustworthy.”

However, there are limitations. In the cohort studies, most psychedelic users also reported using other illicit substances, making it difficult to isolate the effects of psychedelics. The measures of religious belief and affiliation were broad and did not capture the depth of participants’ convictions or their reasons for change. Also, the prospective study spanned only two months, which may be too short to detect deeper transformations in identity.

The researchers caution against overinterpreting the results. While psychedelics are sometimes described as tools for spiritual insight or awakening, this study suggests they do not consistently shift people’s religious outlook. At least in secular societies, they may reinforce a tendency toward disaffiliation rather than conversion or deeper religiosity.

“It was surprising that, overall, people did not report greater spirituality after using psychedelics.,” Cherniak noted. “Future studies should consider asking more precise questions about the supposed components of spirituality, which itself can be vague.”

Future studies could also benefit from exploring how the context of psychedelic use—such as whether it occurs in a religious ceremony, therapeutic session, or recreational setting—influences outcomes. More nuanced data on participants’ beliefs, values, and personal narratives could also help clarify when and why psychedelics contribute to spiritual or religious development.

“We hope to delve more into more subtle processes that comprise spiritual experiences and meaning-making as well as their clinical relevance,” Cherniak said.

The study, “How Does Psychedelic Use Relate to Aspects of Religiosity/Spirituality? Preregistered Report From a Birth Cohort Study and a Prospective Longitudinal Study,” was authored by Aaron D. Cherniak and Pehr Granqvist.