Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in the United States in the course of an online survey found that more than two-thirds of people who identify themselves as atheists cease to consider themselves as such after a mystical experience, caused, among other things, by taking psychedelics. This was announced in a press release on MedicalXpress.
The study involved 4285 people who described their mystical experience, including the feeling of the presence of a supernatural or divine power, and also told how it influenced their future life. In addition, they indicated under what conditions they had spiritual experiences. It turned out that 1,184 people took psilocybins, 1251 - LSD, 435 - the Indian hallucinogenic drink ayahuasca, and 606 - dimethyltryptamine.
Only 809 people have experienced supernatural experiences without taking any drugs. However, most of both of them reported contact with an entity with consciousness and intelligence and associated with eternal existence. In addition, most of the atheists in both groups refused to consider themselves as such after the experience.
At the same time, initially there were more atheists in the group that used psychedelics. Among those who did not use hallucinogenic substances and had not yet encountered spiritual experience, 47 percent were monotheists, and 50 percent were adherents of other religions.