Neuroscience and Religion

[hockeyfan70]

I have a lot of new passions and dreams, and one of them is to learn more about neuroscience, the way the brain works, and more. I was wondering if anyone knew of a podcast or research that someone has done about neuroscience and religion. Thanks!

[TABA]

I'm sure he's been in numerous podcasts too, but Daniel Dennett's book 'Breaking the Spell - Religion as a Natural Phenomenon' should be of interest to you.  He also wrote 'From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds'.  I haven't read either of these, but his name sprang to mind when I read your question.

 

I hope you're doing well, my friend. It's good to see you on here again! 

 

[Geezer]

Dr. Darrel Ray's book, The God Virus explains why Xians cannot process anything that challenges their faith.

 

Ray is a clinical psychologist, so you might find his thoughts interesting. 

[pantheory]

Yup, neuroscience has been an emerging science for a long time. It is still in its early stages of development IMO. It certainly is interesting but not yet meant for layman in that many still consider its conclusions as either debatable, or in some cases pseudo-science. The research is very interesting IMO but conclusions should be taken with a grain of salt. Religious beliefs primarily relate to a persons family and culture rather than from original thinking. Much of it falls within the domains of psychology and sociology. These sciences are mostly perspective sciences rather than hard sciences, also in my opinion.

 

Good luck in your related on-line research

[hockeyfan70]

I've been reading a book on neuroplasticity and how there's a growing interest in the idea that the brain can rewire itself. Might be useful for people who are getting out of religion.

[PurpleStarGirl]

I have an interest in this particular topic myself and from my own research, I believe that belief in a deity or any number of deities results from certain brain regions such as the temporal and parietal lobes working together to produce the belief.

 

Here's also an article that states where spirituality is located in the brain: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/god-spot-in-brain-is-not-_n_1440518.html

 

How the brain perceives certain things is quite fascinating.

[sdelsolray]

On 3/2/2017 at 1:55 PM, ThereAndBackAgain said:

I'm sure he's been in numerous podcasts too, but Daniel Dennett's book 'Breaking the Spell - Religion as a Natural Phenomenon' should be of interest to you.  He also wrote 'From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds'.  I haven't read either of these, but his name sprang to mind when I read your question.

 

I hope you're doing well, my friend. It's good to see you on here again! 

 

 

 

I've read both.  Breaking the Spell is an attempt to scientifically investigate religion.  It's a good read.  From Bacteria, Dennett's most recent book, covers many subjects - evolution, memes, consciousness, cognitive science, among others.  It's a more difficult read (a book that needs to be read two or three times) and is packed with classic Dennett thought.

[Storm]

I listened to an interesting interview on The Thinking Atheist a while back with the author of a book called "The Illusion of Gods Presence". The author is John Wathey, who is a neuroscientist. He presents an interesting theory as to why humans believe that we have someone watching over us and why we feel drawn to seek out such a being. I have not yet read the book, but the interview was interesting. This is a book I am interested in reading in the future. Maybe it would interest some of you as well. 

[hockeyfan70]

8 hours ago, Storm said:

I listened to an interesting interview on The Thinking Atheist a while back with the author of a book called "The Illusion of Gods Presence". The author is John Wathey, who is a neuroscientist. He presents an interesting theory as to why humans believe that we have someone watching over us and why we feel drawn to seek out such a being. I have not yet read the book, but the interview was interesting. This is a book I am interested in reading in the future. Maybe it would interest some of you as well. 

Oooh I need to listen to that one. I've been listening to the thinking atheist for the last few months.