The Santo Daime without Daime Tactics, Agency, and Ritual Change in Ayahuasca Religions under Prohibition in Italy

Following Italy's 2022 legal ban on ayahuasca, ayahuasca religions in the country have adapted their ritual practices by replacing the brew with water and developing new forms of religious travel. The article draws on anthropology, lived religion, and ritual studies to examine how prohibition reshapes ritual practice and everyday life for these transnational religious groups that center on the Amazonian psychoactive brew traditionally used in Indigenous rituals and healing.

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Abstract

This article examines how ayahuasca religions in Italy have reconfigured their ritual practices following the 2022 legal ban on ayahuasca, including replacing the brew with water and creating new forms of religious travel. The Amazonian psychoactive brew ayahuasca, traditionally used in Indigenous rituals and healing, is at the centre of transnational religions that have spread globally. Drawing on anthropology, lived religion, and ritual studies, the article explores the interplay between lived religion, ritual change, and law in the use of controlled substances, and therefore how prohibition reshapes ritual practice and everyday life.