An East End priest’s faith intensified by psilocybin

In 2016, the Rev. Roger Joslin was the vicar of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Bentonville, Ark., when he learned from a friend and fellow priest of a study taking place at Johns Hopkins University into the effects of psilocybin on spiritual and religious development. The study sought 30 clergy of all faiths, with no previous experience with hallucinogens. The Rev. Joslin volunteered, was accepted and participated in a tightly controlled series of experiments with psilocybin that he said led to revelation, integration and a closer relationship with God. 

Psilocybin is a hallucinogen that occurs in a particular type of mushroom. It is not addictive, can’t be overdosed and has been part of religious practices for centuries. Psilocybin was first federally regulated in 1965, and it is illegal to produce, possess or sell it in most of the United States, including New York. In the last decade, as research has shown it has benefits for smoking cessation, alcohol abuse and end-of-life care, some states have eased restrictions, especially for medicinal purposes.

Eight years ago, the Rev. Joslin moved to the North Fork to lead Episcopalian congregations at the Church of the Redeemer in Mattituck and Holy Trinity Church in Greenport. He brought with him a steadfast belief in the power of a psilocybin to help people live better, reduce negative behaviors and experience less emotional pain.

As he learned about the people in his new vicarage, he saw the opportunity to talk about the ways in which the hallucinogen, taken under controlled conditions, can treat psychological problems such as PTSD, improve the quality of life and ease a peaceful transition at the end of life. 

“I think that religion at its core — every religion — has started because of mystical experiences,” he said. At Holy Trinity Church, there are yoga classes, meditation sessions and Tai Chi as well as Sunday morning worship services. At their best, these are mystical and revelatory experiences that can be very powerful. “There’s a whole mystical tradition that involves willingness to spend time in meditation and prayer, fasting and vigorous physical exercise,” the reverend said.

Using “magic mushrooms” can be an intense but bumpy path to spirituality. In the John Hopkins study, each of the participating clergy members initially agreed to take two doses of psilocybin several weeks apart. Five of them declined to take the second dose, and the report on the research, published in May 2025, reported that 46% rated the psilocybin experience as among the five most psychologically challenging of their lives. 

When the Rev. Joslin was accepted into the project, researchers Roland Griffiths and Bill Richards prepared him for the experience. “I brought to this study a lifetime of spiritual seeking and seminary training for the priesthood, sitting in meditation for over 20 years and practicing yoga,” he said. ‘I’d had a number of very profound mystical experiences over the course of my life, so I was attuned to them already.”

The reverend said the a psilocybin “trip” is deeply personal, describing it is similar to recounting a long, involved dream. But he added that each of his experiences — although very different — left him feeling closer to God. Each trip took about six hours, a fact he knows only because the time was recorded and monitored as part of the study. During the trips, he lost all track of time.

“I traveled throughout the universe. I can’t say I met with an entity that you’d call God, but it was just this divine presence that I came to know,” he said. “It was no longer a question of believing in God. That seemed laughable to me because I know God. God became much more of a part of my being than ever before.”

The Rev. Joslin said that part of his experience was dark and even frightening, and other parts led him to an evolving understanding of what heaven is. “I never had that particular conception of heaven before, but that’s what it felt like. It is a perfect kind of place to rest and to be. That came in between some of the harder places to be,” he said.

For him, the results were remarkable. “I never really had much fear of death, and I have zero now. It’s tinged with sadness I think, but not fear,” he said, adding that he emerged from the experience feeling more integrated with nature. “I’ve always been connected to nature, but now nature speaks to me, and I listen more closely.”

He believes, however, that he would have gotten even more benefit from his psilocybin experiences if he’d received some counseling in the aftermath from someone who could help him integrate what he learned into his life. “I would have loved to be able to talk to my priest about this,” he said. 

That is the kind of counseling the Rev. Joslin believes he can provide. He recognizes that many in the community have experienced psilocybin, despite it’s being illegal in New York State. “It’s not to say that if you did some psilocybin on a Saturday night for fun that it couldn’t still change your life. It could. But taken recreationally, the chances of it really taking hold and having real meaning and real impact is lessened if you don’t have some opportunity to integrate, some way of dealing with it,” he explained.

The Rev. Joslin believes that, combined with the right kind of counseling and support, psilocybin can help with “the difficult process of living” and that he is able to help those who have used it, whether recreationally, for religious purposes or as self-medication.

“I’m a good listener,” he said. “I’ve been down the same road, and I know something about spiritual practices and how to integrate them.”