John Allegro and the Psychedelic Mysteries Hypothesis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3302812 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard S Ascough (0009-0003-6931-9036, Queen's University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 1029 |
| Publication date | 2025-08-09 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel16081029 |
| OpenAlex | W4413225364 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 4 |
John Allegro's The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross posits that early Christianity derived from fertility cults involving psychedelic mushroom use. Though widely discredited by scholars when it was first published, the theory persists in popular culture and entheogenic discourse. This article evaluates the scholarly reception, methodological flaws, and enduring cultural impact of Allegro's thesis, particularly its role in the broader psychedelic mysteries hypothesis. Although Allegro's linguistic methodology has been rejected by most experts, his work has contributed to renewed interest in the role of entheogens in religious traditions, with some scholars attempting to salvage Allegro's intuitive insights while distancing themselves from his linguistic excesses. Due to its foundational methodological flaws, however, Allegro's work is best viewed as a historical curiosity rather than a reliable source for contemporary entheogenic scholarship
Aesthetics · Art · Curiosity · Epistemology · Political science · Scholarship · Sociology · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychedelics and Drug Studies · Psychology · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |