Religion, Psychedelics, Risky Behavior, and Violence

Area of Science:

• Psychopharmacology
• Sociology of Religion

Background:

• Psychedelic use is linked to behavioral changes, but socio-cultural influences are understudied.
• The interplay between psychedelic use, religious factors, and behavior requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how religious participation and beliefs affect the association between psychedelic use and violent behavior.
• To investigate the moderating role of religious salience and attendance on psychedelic use and violence.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of pooled data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2015-2019.
• A large sample size (N=282,768) was used for binary logistic regression modeling.
• Examined Lifetime Classic Psychedelic Use (LCPU), religious salience, attendance, and violent assault rates.

Main Results:

• Lifetime Classic Psychedelic Use (LCPU) and religious factors (salience, influence) were independently associated with reduced violence.
• High religious salience moderated the association between risky behavior and violence.
• A three-way interaction showed that psychedelic use, combined with high religious salience, was associated with the smallest effect on violence.

Conclusions:

• Religious factors significantly influence the relationship between psychedelic use and behavioral outcomes.
• Both religious attendance and salience play simultaneous roles in this complex association.
• Findings suggest religious engagement may mitigate potential negative behavioral effects of psychedelic use.