A review of the complex intersection between religion, spirituality, and harm reduction.
The American journal on addictions May 10, 2025 Jessica Van Denend, Jeremy Weleff, Kelly Park et al.
Religion and spirituality (r/s) are often overlooked in harm reduction research, which focuses on reducing the negative consequences of substance use rather than requiring abstinence. This literature review examined 169 papers from 457 identified, finding that 100 discussed alignment between r/s values and harm reduction, 39 described strategic use of r/s resources, 22 addressed substances with religious or spiritual significance (e.g., psychedelics), and 8 discussed r/s support for harm reduction workers. Only 18 papers were coproduced with people with lived/living experience, while 75 were informed by such relationships, and 76 had no noted engagement. The review demonstrates that r/s is relevant beyond abstinence models and suggests opportunities to understand r/s as both a barrier and resource for harm reduction, with proximity to lived experience influencing alignment with harm reduction values.