The Role of Psychedelics in the Development of Human Religious Practices: The Innate Human Quest for Transcendence (SpringerBriefs in Religious Studies) - Softcover

Pavăl, Denis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3032202132 ISBN 13: 9783032202130

Publisher: Springer, 2026

Synopsis

The Role of Psychedelics in the Development of Human Religious Practices explores how mind-altering substances have shaped humanity’s search for the sacred. Drawing on neuroscience, archaeology, ethnopharmacology, and art history, Denis Pavăl offers an accessible, balanced synthesis of a rapidly evolving field. This Brief examines the phenomenology and neuropharmacology of psychedelic experiences, evaluates claims about their historical use in ritual and religion, and addresses the current psychedelic renaissance. Challenging both uncritical enthusiasm and outright skepticism, it provides a concise, evidence-based guide for researchers, clinicians, students, and readers interested in consciousness, spirituality, and the origins of religious practice across cultures worldwide.

About this title

About the Author

Denis Pavăl, MD, PhD, is a psychiatrist and faculty member at the “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, where he combines academic teaching with active clinical practice. His research is firmly grounded in neuroscience, with a particular emphasis on the biological mechanisms underlying major psychiatric disorders. Dr. Pavăl has an extensive publication record in internationally indexed journals and contributes regularly to leading neuropsychiatric conferences. His scholarly interests also extend to the neuroscience of religion, where he examines how brain processes inform spiritual experience and the development of belief systems.

From the Back Cover

This brief brings about a critical perspective on the role of psychedelics in the development of human spirituality. Relying on various disciplines such as classical studies, archaeology, ethnobotany, and archeochemistry, this book outlines compelling pieces of evidence that support the historical use of psychedelics in religious rituals. It further discusses how psychedelics trigger profound spiritual experiences that are significant enough to justify their ritualistic use, and provides a neuroscientific approach to psychedelic pharmacodynamics, i.e. the effect of psychedelics on the brain. It is an important read for scholars of religion and spirituality interested in the intersection of neuroscience, religion and consciousness.

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3032202132
• ISBN 13: 9783032202130
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 106