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The neuroscience of religion, also known as neurotheology, and as spiritual neuroscience,[1] attempts to explain religious experience and behaviour in neuroscientific terms.[2] It is the study of correlations of neural phenomena with subjective experiences of spirituality and hypotheses to explain these phenomena. This contrasts with the psychology of religion which studies mental, rather than neural states.
Supporters of the neuroscience of religion say there is a neurological and evolutionary basis for subjective experiences traditionally categorized as spiritual or religious.[3] The field has formed the basis of several popular science books.[4][5][6]
- ^ Biello, David (October 2007). "Searching for God in the Brain". Scientific American. Vol. 18, no. 5. pp. 38–45. doi:10.1038/scientificamericanmind1007-38.
- ^ Aaen-Stockdale, Craig (2012). "Neuroscience for the Soul". The Psychologist. 25 (7): 520–523. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
- ^ Gajilan, A. Chris (5 April 2007). "Are humans hard-wired for faith?". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2007.
- ^ Alper, Matthew (2008). The "God" Part of the Brain: A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God. Sourcebooks. ISBN 978-1402214523.
- ^ Austin, James H. (1998). Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-01164-8.
- ^ Austin, James H. (2006). Zen-Brain Reflections: Reviewing Recent Developments in Meditation and States of Consciousness. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262012232.