The use of drugs and religion has been intertwined throughout the historical context. However, the nature of the relationship has been different from place to place and over time. Alcohol and other forms of drugs have played an integral role in religious rituals among various groups. For instance, in South Africa, cannabis among the Rastafarian religion was considered sacred, and thus, it was used during a religious ritual. Cannabis use for spiritual purposes has also been seen in different parts of the world among the Rastafarians, Christians, and Hindus. The use of drugs in religious ritual is associated with adherents of faith among congregants. Drugs use considered as a way of bringing essential visions that helps people to connect in either a higher power or a spiritual world. Drugs in the religious ritual are used since it is believed they are gifts from God and for healing and learning purposes. The paper will discuss drug use for religious rituals among different religions.
As outlined by Yaden et al. (2016), drugs are used for healing purposes and ceremonies in some religions. For example, Mazatec Shamans' religion in Mexico uses a drug called Salvia purposely for future predictions and to receive divine answers relating to enemies, friends, and family. The drug is ingested through smoking, chewing, or vaporization of its leaves. The ingredients of drugs cause hallucinations, perception of vivid colors, and distorted memory among religious members. The users refer to the drug as "leaves of Virgin Mary" due to a strong belief in its influence on their needs (Parrish & Taylor, 2018).
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Drugs are also used for religious and spiritual sacrament. Religions such as Hinduism, Christianity, and Rastafarians practice religious rituals using marijuana. Among the Hindus, marijuana has been used from 10000 BCE for rituals that entailed observing goddess Shiva. Parrish & Taylor (2018) outlines that, the use of ganja or marijuana is a custom that forms an integral part of worship in Hinduism—as such, outlawing of the drug is similar to bringing to an end traditional Hinduism worship culture. Similarly, Judaism and Christianity in the US also use marijuana in their religious rituals. The denomination believes that holy anointing oil in the Old Testament was made from cannabis. Similarly, marijuana use has been adopted by Rastafarians. They are well known in the world for their association of bhang with religious rituals. The religion views that usage of marijuana helps in enhancing religious experiences and calming visions. Thus, during their religious congregation, Rastafarians use marijuana for meditation purposes.
Drugs are also considered as a source of spiritual knowledge, and thus, religions such as Bwiti based in Africa uses iboga during their religious ceremonies. The religion views that; iboga drug is believed to be the tree of knowledge founded in the Garden of Eden as outlined in the Old Testament (Yaden et al., 2016). The Bwiti religion uses the drug to make future predictions, connect with death, speak with plants and animals, and cure sickness. The religion believes that the use of iboga gives them access to unprecedented insight concerning the Christian religion's tenets. For example, iboga usage helps the religious members faithful in God since it emphasizes understanding about creation, the birth of Christ, his message, death, and resurrection. The religion emphasizes the value of direct communion between religious members with spirits and ancestors. The religious ritual called ngoze is done weekly, and it involves the consumption of small to moderate doses of iboga as a sacrament. The main purpose of the consumption of iboga is to facilitate communal joy, spiritual communion, and revelry.
Drugs are also used to connect religious groups to the spiritual world. Primarily, the use of ayahuasca among the Amazonians in South America is due to its view that the drug provides healing. The use of drugs has psycho-integrators quality due to its physiological effects. Ayahuasca helps in the integration of the preconscious, conscious, and unconscious process of users (Parrish & Taylor, 2018). The Amazonians believed that ayahuasca had powers that could enable a user to transform and explore various realism such as sky, underwater, and earth. The powers derived from drugs were necessary for attacking or defending the Amazonians from attacks from their rivals. During ayahuasca spiritual ceremonies, shamans' supervision is done to ensure safety and provide support to users since the drug may lead to physical illness among users. Notably, after consuming the drug, religion followers will not be able for 4 to 6 hours, so one lies down and listens to music while chanting.
In conclusion, drug use for religious rituals has been discussed extensively by many scholars. Various religions have expressed their position as well as acceptance of the consumption of drugs for spiritual, medicinal, and pleasure purposes. Religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, and Rastafarians have been using cannabis as a spiritual and religious sacrament. Based on their views, anointing oil in the Old Testament was made from cannabis. Similarly, other religions such as Mazatec view drugs for healing reasons, while others believe drugs provide connection among religious groups to the spiritual world.
References
Yaden, D. B., Iwry, J., & Newberg, A. B. (2016). Neuroscience and religion: Surveying the field. Religion: Mental Religion: Part of the Macmillan Interdisciplinary Handbooks: Religion Series , 277-299. Retrieved from; http://behavioralhealth2000.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Neuroscience-and-Religion-Surveying-the-Field.pdf
Parrish, M., & Taylor, J. (2018). Religious involvement and marijuana use among a sample of African American young adults. Journal of ethnicity in substance abuse , 17 (4), 548-555. Retrieved from; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6260969/
