Journal of Contemporary Religion
September 28, 2012
Edward Macrae
125 citations
Ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew, significantly impacts participants' mental health. In a sample of 150 individuals from diverse backgrounds, 75% reported improved well-being after sessions, while 60% experienced lasting reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms. The internationalization of drug studies highlights the sociological implications of psychedelics, as these substances are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic potential. With effect sizes ranging from moderate to large, ayahuasca's role in mental health treatment is gaining traction, challenging traditional perceptions of drug use and therapy.
April 8, 2016
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Edward Macrae
78 citations
This edited volume brings together Brazilian and international scholars to examine the history, ritual, cosmology, and social context of three Brazilian ayahuasca religions: Santo Daime, Barquinha, and União do Vegetal. Chapters explore the use of ayahuasca among rubber tappers in the Alto Juruá, the symbolic systems of Santo Daime rituals, the cosmology of Barquinha, the religious matrices of União do Vegetal, and the religious experiences of its participants. The collection also addresses the development of Brazilian public policies on the religious use of ayahuasca and reviews current and future research on treating substance dependence with ayahuasca.
Fieldwork in Religion
November 27, 2008
Edward Macrae
11 citations
In Brazil, tolerant policies have allowed the psychoactive substance ayahuasca to be successfully incorporated into mainstream society, while prohibitionist policies have prevented the ritual use of cannabis by a Santo Daime religious group from gaining full acceptance. This ongoing prohibition creates persistent problems for ayahuasca churches, their followers, and broader society.
Fieldwork in Religion
November 27, 2008
Beatriz Caiuby Labate, Edward Macrae
1 citation
This special issue of Fieldwork in Religion presents original and translated articles on Brazilian ayahuasca religions—Santo Daime, Barquinha, and União do Vegetal—which use the psychoactive beverage ayahuasca as a sacrament. Research on these religions in Brazil dates to at least 1983, when Clodomir Monteiro da Silva studied Santo Daime's role in integrating migrant rubber tappers in Rio Branco. The collection aims to bridge the language barrier for English readers and reveal how these eclectic religions, blending popular Catholicism, Amazonian Shamanism, Spiritism, European Esotericism, and Afro-Brazilian religiosity, have moved from Amazonian frontier settlements to middle-class urban contexts.