A Christian Lens on Psychedelics: Faith Meets Altered States - Hunt Priest

Feb 23, 2026

Hunt Priest, a Christian minister and founder of Ligare who participated in a Johns Hopkins clergy psilocybin study, explores Christianity, mysticism, and ethical integration of non-ordinary states. He discusses his Hopkins experience, contemplative Christian traditions, church-based models for spiritual care, legal and justice tensions, and how psychedelics fit into a wider spiritual life.

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ANECDOTE

Hopkins Clergy Study Changed A Priest's Life

Hunt Priest joined the 2016 Johns Hopkins psilocybin clergy study and experienced two profound, unexpectedly Christian mystical encounters a month apart.
He was screened as psychedelically naive, flew to Baltimore, and gained healing from long-standing anxiety and renewed spiritual clarity.

INSIGHT

Ligare Founded To Rebind Christianity To Mystical Practice

Ligare was founded to create a Christian container for understanding psychedelic experiences and to revive contemplative, mystical Christianity.
Priest named it from Latin ligare meaning to bind or unite, linking it to religion's root and community organizing during COVID.

INSIGHT

Christianity Already Contains Mystical Tools For Psychedelic Meaning

Christianity contains a deep mystical tradition (Thomas Merton, Julian of Norwich, Hildegard) often sidelined by institutionalism and the Reformation.
Priest argues that psychedelic experiences map onto these non-ordinary Christian narratives and can be integrated within communal safety structures.

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In this episode of The Psychedelic Podcast, Paul F. Austin speaks with Hunt Priest, founder of Ligare, about Christianity, mysticism, and the ethical integration of psychedelic experience within spiritual life.

Find full show notes and links here: https://thethirdwave.co/podcast/episode-344/?ref=278

They discuss Hunt's participation in a 2016 Johns Hopkins psilocybin study for clergy, Christianity's long history of mystical experience, and how non-ordinary states can be held within ethical and communal containers. The conversation also explores legality versus ethics, justice and institutional risk, and how psychedelics relate to prayer, meditation, and service within a broader spiritual life.

Hunt Priest is a Christian minister and founder of Ligare, a nonprofit exploring the relationship between Christianity and psychedelics. Formerly an Episcopal priest, he works at the intersection of spiritual formation, ethics, and community-based integration of mystical experience.

Highlights:

Johns Hopkins clergy study
Christian mysticism and non-ordinary states
Psychedelics as catalysts for spiritual practice
Legal versus ethical tensions
Institutional risk and grace

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