The origins of religion and paganism?

you really do need to get out more. what, did you just finish reading one book on shamanism and now consider yourself an expert? yes, many religions have used drugs as an aid to achieving a higher state of consciousness, but they were not shamans. making a broad statement such as 'shamanism became paganism' is a gross over-simplification of the evolution of religion, and it's not even entirely clear that that was the case. all we really have to go on is the oral traditions of the hindus, and all that really describes is the evolution of hinduism. we don't know at what point the aryans carried their vedic ideas into europe to create the pagan religions, so it's not possible to say that paganism originated from shamanism. the two coexisted and influenced each other in many ways, so it's just as likely that you have it backwards. nobody knows what happened in the caves and huts of the prehistoric era, all we have is comparisons between what we know of ancient shamanism and what the hindus have recorded of early vedic practices along with what little has survived of the western branches of indo-european religion. no matter how much you rant, you don't have a leg to stand on.