What can science reveal about personal religious experience? You might think that these two very separate worlds just don’t mix—oil and water, data and faith. Yet more than half of adult Americans report having had a life-changing spiritual experience, and this widespread phenomenon has captured the attention of researchers interested in exploring the link between brain activity and the human perception of God.
A recent National Public Radio (NPR) five-part investigative series explored the current questions and possible answers in this new science of spirituality. Here’s a peek at what they found.
- The Chemistry of God: Researchers at John’s Hopkins University have found that certain chemicals, such as psychedelic drugs, influence the brain’s serotonin (neurotransmitter) system in a way that can produce vivid mystical experiences. This begs the question, “Does our brain chemistry create God or connect us to God?”
- Our Spiritual Sweet Spot: The brain’s temporal lobe is associated with memory and emotion; it’s the seat of our passionate beliefs. The temporal lobe is also the area of the brain affected by epileptic seizures. During seizures, epileptics sometimes have auditory hallucinations, believing that they have heard the voice of God. Based on this common experience of epileptics, there are neurologists who suggest that some key biblical prophets may have suffered from epilepsy.
- This Is Your Brain on Prayer: The brain activity of those who pray or meditate is different from those who do not. Meditation has been found to increase brain activity in the frontal lobe (the part of the brain responsible for concentration) and decreases brain activity in the parietal lobe (the part of the brain that helps us keep track of time and space).
- Can Thoughts Heal Others? Our thoughts and emotions can certainly affect the functioning of our own body. Researchers are now examining how one person’s thoughts can affect another person’s body. Is there a scientific explanation for the healing power of praying for sick loved ones?
- Dying to See God: Are the visions of those who’ve had near death experiences merely hallucinations brought on by the brain shutting down at the time of death, or are people who’ve had a brush with death really seeing a glimpse into the Promised Land? All of the evidence of near-death experience is anecdotal, since it is not ethical to design a study in which people are nearly killed and then brought back from the edge of death. Researcher Mario Beauregard, a neuroscientist at the University of Montreal, has examined the brain activity of people recalling their near death experience, and found that, during recollection of their experience, their brain waves are similar to experts at meditation, Catholic nuns and Buddhist monks.
All said, none of this research is going to prove or disprove the existence of God. Many of the researchers interpretations of their spiritual science findings seem to reflect their personal perspectives. Science is a tool of objectivity. Is it even possible for a human be objective about something as personal as spirituality; to distill truth from belief? We'll have to wait and see.
If you are interested in continuing to explore the most recent discoveries on the science of God, the full NPR article series “Is Your Brain on God?” can be accessed online. You may also be interested in the New Scientist article, “Born believers: How your brain creates God.”
