Then (1979), The Road to Eleusis
The Entheogen Concept: From Scholarly Proposal to Legal Framework
Wasson and Ruck coined 'entheogen' in 1979, one year after The Road to Eleusis, specifically to provide vocabulary for psychoactive substances used in religious contexts that encoded a different theory than 'psychedelic' or 'hallucinogen.' The word was a scholarly proposal; its creators did not anticipate its legal application.
confirmed
'Entheogen' is now a recognized category in US religious freedom law. Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal (SCOTUS, 2006): the Court ruled unanimously that the RFRA required the government to demonstrate compelling interest before prohibiting the UDV's sacramental hoasca use. The legal brief argued that hoasca was an entheogen, a substance central to genuine religious practice. Since O Centro, RFRA cases for ayahuasca, peyote, and psilocybin have used 'entheogen' language in legal arguments. Several have succeeded. The word Wasson and Ruck coined in a scholarly journal to distinguish sacred plant use from recreational drug use is now a recognized category in US constitutional law.
Sources
- Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita SCOTUS (2006)
- RFRA case law compilation (Chacruna Institute, 2024)