The expansion of the Santo Daime ayahuasca religion from the Amazon to the world is driven by its structural characteristics of psychoactivity and miscibility. This growth is part of a diasporic movement of religions from the global south, reflecting Brazil and Latin America's increasing role in the global religious landscape. The process has been conflict-ridden and tense in various locations, and it has produced several consequences for traditional Amazonian communities. The internationalization of Santo Daime illustrates contemporary religious controversies and ambivalences, stimulating debate on fundamental issues related to the global religious context and modernity itself.
The article discusses the heritage-making process of ayahuasca, a psychoactive beverage of Amazonian origin used ritually by institutionalized religions such as Santo Daime, União do Vegetal, and Barquinha; indigenous peoples like the Yawanawa and Ashaninka; and a range of people from Peruvian vegetalistas to neo-shamans in large cities. Ayahuasca is shown to be polyphonic, polysemic, and polycentric, forming a true ayahuasca field marked by alliances and internal conflicts. The heritage process reveals a complex cartography where different epistemologies coexist and intense power disputes occur.
The article analyzes how ayahuasca religions in Brazil build relationships with the state. These religions use the psychoactive beverage ayahuasca and are linked to contemporary public debates about drugs. As they expand their rights and construct social legitimacy, they distance themselves from the drug topic. Securing the right to religious ayahuasca use and the possibility of including this issue in Brazilian cultural policies reflect the choices, strategies, and political projects of these religions. The text compares the politics of ayahuasca religions with those of other Brazilian religious expressions.