Jul 04, 2024 08:00:00

Neuroscientists should not be afraid to study religion

It is said that about 85% of the world's population

believes in a particular religion , and religion not only improves people's health and happiness, but has also sometimes been a source of conflict and confrontation. Thus, although the importance of religion in influencing human behavior is clear, neuroscientists tend to avoid research such as 'how religion affects people's brains.' The scientific journal Nature has criticized this situation.

Neuroscientists must not be afraid to study religion
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-02153-7

In 2021, researchers from the Public Health, Religion and Spirituality Network

examined more than 2.5 million projects submitted to the National Institutes of Health since 1985. They found that spirituality-related terms appeared in only 0.05% of abstracts and 0.006% of titles, while religion-related words appeared in 0.09% of abstracts and 0.009% of titles.

Although limited in volume, research into spirituality and religion is not absent, and tools are being developed to study it. In the late 1960s, American anthropologist George Murdoch conducted a survey of rituals, magical powers, and beliefs towards supernatural beings in 168 cultures. According to Nature, such studies provide neuroscientists with the knowledge and tools to study them.

The Mystical Experiences Questionnaire (MEQ), developed in 1969, allows subjects to rate their experiences as religious or spiritual based on thousands of religious stories. The MEQ and other psychological measures can be used in conjunction with brain imaging techniques, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

Yet, while only a few researchers using fMRI and other techniques have made religion or spirituality the primary focus of their research, we do know that patients who have had tumors removed at

the temporoparietal junction report an increased sense of connection with others and with nature, and that people who regularly engage in religious practices have greater connectivity in brain regions involved in self-reflection and emotion regulation than those who regularly participate in sports or participate in regular social activities.

Additionally, previous brain imaging studies have shown that psychedelics modulate activity in brain regions associated with religious and spiritual experiences, suggesting that most psychedelics affect neural circuits regulated by serotonin, potentially influencing people's sense of self, their sense of connection to others and nature, and the likelihood of reporting encounters with supernatural entities.

In addition, many participants

reported having religious or spiritual experiences after taking hallucinogens, and while approximately 28% of participants reported being atheists before taking hallucinogens, only about 10% reported being atheists after taking the drugs.

Thus, although there are few researchers working on religion and spiritual issues, they have produced some fascinating neuroscientific findings. In recent years, AI has been used to study brain activity patterns in response to religious or spiritual concepts, and there have also been experiments where VR has been used to create religious or spiritual experiences in the real world.

Nature states, 'The neuroscientific study of religion and spirituality is crucial to understanding the human brain and human life. In recent years, more and more people in high-income countries are leaving traditional religious affiliations, while in low-income countries religious traditions remain strong or are expanding. In addition, more people in Gen Z are embracing traditional religions such as Catholicism and Judaism. Neuroscientists have a role to play in uncovering how these changes are affecting the human brain, without rejecting or promoting religion or spirituality.'