Hoasca The Sacrament of the Uniao do Vegetal, Science, Society and Environment

In 1961, a rubber tapper at the heart of the Amazon forest founded a religion known as the União do Vegetal (UDV). Essential to the practice of this religion is the ritual, sacramental, use of a psychoactive tea called Hoasca (also known as Ayahuasca). Today, the UDV has followers throughout Brazil as well as in the US, Spain, Portugal, England, Switzerland and Australia. In 2005 the United States Supreme Court, in a historic unanimous decision, affirmed the right of the UDV to use its sacrament. This decision was recognized as having “changed the landscape of the law” relating to religious liberty in the United States. This book, originally published in Brazil, documents the structure, practices, and community life of this religious society. It will appeal to academics and researchers as well as to those interested in the UDV’s relationship with religion, society, ecology and spirituality.