However, these benefits may have less to do with ayahuasca than the churches themselves whose devoted members care for one another, providing a rich social life and spiritual support. Apart from those exceptions in Brazil, DMT is prohibited all over the world. In Holland, the police actually raided a service and took away a sample for analysis. In Italy, Germany and Japan the police have also taken samples for analysis but made no charge. Over the past two years, branches of the Santo Daime church have been established in Japan, the USA, Spain, Holland, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, France and now Britain.
Some members regard the expansion in Brazil as a prelude to becoming a world wide religion.
Certainly there is a lot going for the Santo Daime as a religion of our time. Its origins in the rain forest, the use of a traditional sacred plant medicine and the ecologically aware lifestyle of the Mapia community paint an attractive image, one of being uncorrupted and in touch with nature. Its holistic viewpoint accords with the prevailing New Age philosophy where physical, psychological and spiritual well being are seen as one. It has incorporates shamanism and the 'Goddess'. It allows for individual spiritual experience 'in the here and now'.