A survey of more than 4,200 people has found meeting God in person can have an impact on mental wellbeing. In addition, at least two-thirds of self-titled atheists who have claimed to have met the Creator, have shed their atheists’ beliefs. The incredible findings were presented on April 23 in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE. The study looked at how different religious experiences manifested across the board and what sort of long-term effect they had.
Dr Roland Griffiths, a professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, suggested spiritual encounters can have healing power.
He said: “Experiences that people describe as encounters with God or a representative of God have been reported for thousands of years, and they likely form the basis of many of the world’s religions.
“And although modern Western medicine doesn’t typically consider ‘spiritual’ or ‘religious’ experiences as one of the tools in the arsenal against sickness, our findings suggest that these encounters often lead to improvements in mental health.”
According to the study, a majority of respondents of around 3/4, reported long-lasting positive changes in their lives.
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These beneficial changes were attributed to their psychological health, such as overall satisfaction with life, a sense of purpose and meaning.
These positive feelings were reported to linger even decades after the initial religious experience.
But what exactly were these deeply religious encounters with God described by the study?
The survey compared “spontaneous mythical experiences” with those induced by the consumption of psychoactive substances.
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Psychoactive substances are hallucinogens and psychedelics such as the Amazonian brew ayahuasca, which can induce visual and sensory hallucinations.
These substances are illegal in the UK under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which makes illegal any substances “capable of producing a psychoactive effect in a person who consumes it”.
For the purpose of the study, the researchers have asked how the use of these substances over the centuries contributed to religious experiences.
Dr Griffiths said: “Continuing to explore these experiences may provide new insights into religious and spiritual beliefs that have been integral to shaping human culture since time immemorial.”
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Those who completed two 50 minute online surveys, were asked to recall an encounter or experience of a “god of their understanding”, an “ultimate reality”, a “higher power” or some form of godly representative such as an angel.
Of those who responded to the survey, only 809 had such a spiritual encounter while not under the influence of illegal substances.
On the other hand, a total of 3,476 people responded to the survey based on psychedelics use.
The majority of those who took the second survey said they had their experiences on average at the age of 25.
Spontaneous meetings with God, however, occurred on average at the age of 35.
And in both groups, 75 percent of the respondents described their experiences as deeply meaningful and moving.
Most participants also recalled vivid memories of the encounters, which in many cases involved direct communication with some form of a higher being.
About 15 percent of respondents in both groups agreed the encounter was the most psychologically taking event of their lives.