Religious Belief And The Brain

[vbnautilus 48]

Interesting study came out this week on the brain processes involved in believing religious statements vs. nonreligious statements. Newsweek article on the study here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/216551And the original paper here: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%...al.pone.0007272The basic finding was that the difference between belief and disbelief was the same regardless of whether the statement was religious or mundane, or whether the person was a christian or an atheist. However, thinking about religious questions led to a very different network of activations overall compared to nonreligious statements for both groups of subjects. Curious what people think of this.

[speedz99 145]

Let me know when they test people who aren't ridiculous enough to be 100% sure one way or another. If those subjects also use the specific part of the brain for religious questions, then we'll talk. For now, as far as I'm concerned, that area of the brain is simply responsible for storing beliefs that the person unconsciously knows are unrealistic, and religion is just one of those topics.Yes, being 100% sure that there was no outside influence at the beginning of our Universe's existence is unrealistic, in my opinion.

[vbnautilus 48]

Let me know when they test people who aren't ridiculous enough to be 100% sure one way or another. If those subjects also use the specific part of the brain for religious questions, then we'll talk. For now, as far as I'm concerned, that area of the brain is simply responsible for storing beliefs that the person unconsciously knows are unrealistic, and religion is just one of those topics.Yes, being 100% sure that there was no outside influence at the beginning of our Universe's existence is unrealistic, in my opinion.

We don't know that they were 100% sure, just that they claim to believe all of the statements one way or another. In fact, one of the findings was that people take longer to answer the religious questions, which also generated more activity in brain regions known to process uncertainty. So, there may very well be more uncertainty for these people when believing religious things, but the brain areas responsible for distinguishing the truth of religious statements like "Angels really exist" was the same as for non-religious statements, like "Eagles really exist".

[Balloon guy 158]

We don't know that they were 100% sure, just that they claim to believe all of the statements one way or another. In fact, one of the findings was that people take longer to answer the religious questions, which also generated more activity in brain regions known to process uncertainty. So, there may very well be more uncertainty for these people when believing religious things, but the brain areas responsible for distinguishing the truth of religious statements like "Angels really exist" was the same as for non-religious statements, like "Eagles really exist".

Or they feel a responsiblity to respond in a manner that best represents God's Word. Feeling you are answering a question that may leave you open to ridicule or force you to defend yourself makes everyone pause.Except you know who..he just hits respond and starts typing...

[Balloon guy 158]

Let me know when they test people who aren't ridiculous enough to be 100% sure one way or another. If those subjects also use the specific part of the brain for religious questions, then we'll talk. For now, as far as I'm concerned, that area of the brain is simply responsible for storing beliefs that the person unconsciously knows are unrealistic, and religion is just one of those topics.Yes, being 100% sure that there was no outside influence at the beginning of our Universe's existence is unrealistic, in my opinion.

Some people say we only use 10% of our brain....I think we only use 10% of our hearts.

[vbnautilus 48]

Or they feel a responsiblity to respond in a manner that best represents God's Word. Feeling you are answering a question that may leave you open to ridicule or force you to defend yourself makes everyone pause.Except you know who..he just hits respond and starts typing...

I'm pretty sure the atheists didn't feel such a responsibility.

[Balloon guy 158]

I'm pretty sure the atheists didn't feel such a responsibility.

Maybe they were agnostics?

[vbnautilus 48]

Maybe they were agnostics?

They were allowed to answer that they didn't know to any question, yet they all responded that they did not believe the religious questions.

[Balloon guy 158]

They were allowed to answer that they didn't know to any question, yet they all responded that they did not believe the religious questions.

A lot of athiest have brain washed themseves to quickly dismiss the entire possibility of a God so their quick dismissal of a religious question should show you their lack of intellectual honesty more than any brain pattern theories.

[crowTrobot 2]

A lot of athiest have brain washed themseves to quickly dismiss the entire possibility of a God

i'd bet you've never in your life heard an atheist quickly dismiss the entire possibilty of god.

[Balloon guy 158]

i'd bet you've never in your life heard an atheist quickly dismiss the entire possibilty of god.

I'd bet that your bet would be very small monetarily.

[vbnautilus 48]

A lot of athiest have brain washed themseves to quickly dismiss the entire possibility of a God so their quick dismissal of a religious question should show you their lack of intellectual honesty more than any brain pattern theories.

Brain washing shows up on the scans as a special color... want to get scanned?

[BeaverStyle 1]

A lot of athiests have brain washed themselves to quickly dismiss the entire possibility of a God so their quick dismissal of a religious question should show you their lack of intellectual honesty more than any brain pattern theories.

As a person who was raised Catholic, went to Church every Sunday until I went to college, and attended Catholic schools K-8 (cept 6th grade) and high school, I had to read this twice... then I had to read it again.I have come to the conclusion on my own, while being raised to follow catholic beliefs, that the catholic faith depends on brain-washing children to blindly believe the catholic teachings. Were you raised catholic, or did you decide on all of your beliefs post-childhood by making an intellectual and educated decision on a higher power? Also, you honestly believe that "a lot of atheists have brain-washed themselves?," or are their beliefs simply THEIR conclusions after making an intellectual and educated decision?

[Balloon guy 158]

As a person who was raised Catholic, went to Church every Sunday until I went to college, and attended Catholic schools K-8 (cept 6th grade) and high school, I had to read this twice... then I had to read it again.I have come to the conclusion on my own, while being raised to follow catholic beliefs, that the catholic faith depends on brain-washing children to blindly believe the catholic teachings. Were you raised catholic, or did you decide on all of your beliefs post-childhood by making an intellectual and educated decision on a higher power? Also, you honestly believe that "a lot of atheists have brain-washed themselves?," or are their beliefs simply THEIR conclusions after making an intellectual and educated decision?

Most of what I said was tongue in cheek, but I was raised neutral, no church, no militant anti-church.Accepted Christ at ~20 years old.And the problem with the way you phrased the question is that you are giving only two options;1. that an athiest is a person who is brain washed or2. an athiest is making a decision that is true because it is based on factsThere is a third option, that athiest believe something that is wrong, but are doing it because the data can be interprepted that way if you want to see it that way.I think most of them fall into camp 3, although I think a large number of them are in camp one as well

[crowTrobot 2]

And the problem with the way you phrased the question is that you are giving only two options;1. that an athiest is a person who is brain washed or2. an athiest is making a decision that is true because it is based on factsThere is a third option, that athiest believe something that is wrong, but are doing it because the data can be interprepted that way if you want to see it that way.I think most of them fall into camp 3, although I think a large number of them are in camp one as well

what atheist camp do you fall into when it comes to all other gods but the biblical one?

[Balloon guy 158]

what atheist camp do you fall into when it comes to all other gods but the biblical one?

Okay, let's pull out the tired poorly thought out "I belive in one less God than you" line that makes the athiest all happy inside, while they ignore how ignorant this thought process is.One is infinity more than zero, but 2 is only a little more than 1. Pretending that there in no way to travel to china isn't proved because some people think you can get there on a skateboard.But try that thought process on your wife; "Honey, I believe in marriage, but you believe that I have to be faithful to one less person than I believe I must be faithful too"Or how about:I contend we both believe 9/11 didn’t happen. I just believe in one fewer cause than you. When you understand why you dismiss all the 9/11 conspiracy theories, you will understand why I dismiss Arabs flying planes into the buildingsOrI content we both believe Shakespeare didn’t exist. I just believe in one fewer identity than you. When you understand why you dismiss the theory that Shakespeare was Francis Bacon, you will understand why I dismiss Shakespeare being William Shakespeare.

[crowTrobot 2]

Okay, let's pull out the tired poorly thought out "I belive in one less God than you" line that makes the athiest all happy inside, while they ignore how ignorant this thought process is.One is infinity more than zero, but 2 is only a little more than 1. Pretending that there in no way to travel to china isn't proved because some people think you can get there on a skateboard.But try that thought process on your wife; "Honey, I believe in marriage, but you believe that I have to be faithful to one less person than I believe I must be faithful too"Or how about:I contend we both believe 9/11 didn’t happen. I just believe in one fewer cause than you. When you understand why you dismiss all the 9/11 conspiracy theories, you will understand why I dismiss Arabs flying planes into the buildingsOrI content we both believe Shakespeare didn’t exist. I just believe in one fewer identity than you. When you understand why you dismiss the theory that Shakespeare was Francis Bacon, you will understand why I dismiss Shakespeare being William Shakespeare.

nice bunch of moronic equivocating (lifted from christian apologist material i'm sure) to avoid a simple point.the comparison doesn't even have to be other gods. atheists disbelieve in the biblical god for the same reasons you don't believe the sun revolves around the earth - because of evidence, not because of bias or subjective interpretation of vague data.

[Balloon guy 158]

nice bunch of moronic equivocating (lifted from christian apologist material i'm sure) to avoid a simple point.the comparison doesn't even have to be other gods. atheists disbelieve in the biblical god for the same reasons you don't believe the sun revolves around the earth - because of evidence, not because of bias or subjective interpretation of vague data.

I'm sure you have told yourself this enough times that you actually believe it nowAthiest disbelieve because they don't want to have to answer for their actions.They spend all their efforts finding anything that supports this desire they have, and ignore anything that should give them pause to their declarative statement.People that actually don't know for sure call themselves agnostics and are intellectually honest, athiest are not intellectually honest, they are claiming to know the existance of every single being in the entire universe, thus allowing themselves to make the claim that they 'know' there is no god. This is why they are as a rule arrogant antagonist who troll message boards to tell everyone who thinks different than them that they are wrong.The funny thing is how badly thought out most of their arguments are, so they are forced to grab onto clever quips that they think are deep.

[Balloon guy 158]

nice bunch of moronic equivocating (lifted from christian apologist material i'm sure) to avoid a simple point.

Let me rephrase that for you:How dare you copy someone else's work to refute the work I copied from someone else.

[vbnautilus 48]

I think we got distracted from the fascinating research presented in the OP.

[crowTrobot 2]

Athiest disbelieve because they don't want to have to answer for their actions.

just like you don't make animal sacrafices to baal because you don't want to answer for your actions.

They spend all their efforts finding anything that supports this desire they have, and ignore anything that should give them pause to their declarative statement.People that actually don't know for sure call themselves agnostics and are intellectually honest, athiest are not intellectually honest, they are claiming to know the existance of every single being in the entire universe, thus allowing themselves to make the claim that they 'know' there is no god. This is why they are as a rule arrogant antagonist who troll message boards to tell everyone who thinks different than them that they are wrong.

obviously you are aware by now that the vast majority of people that call themselves atheists including pretty much every one that has ever posted here aren't "strong", never make declarative statements about "god" in general, and don't claim to "know" no god of any type exists. this is just another ploy of yours to deflect from the point. stop lying.

[Balloon guy 158]

just like you don't make animal sacrafices to baal because you don't want to answer for your actions.obviously you are aware by now that the vast majority of people that call themselves atheists including pretty much every one that has ever posted here aren't "strong", never make declarative statements about "god" in general, and don't claim to "know" no god of any type exists. this is just another ploy of yours to deflect from the point. stop lying.

stop projecting

[Balloon guy 158]

I think we got distracted from the fascinating research presented in the OP.

Talk about your bias...

[Randy Reed 0]

Or they feel a responsiblity to respond in a manner that best represents God's Word. Feeling you are answering a question that may leave you open to ridicule or force you to defend yourself makes everyone pause.Except you know who..he just hits respond and starts typing...

I'm just browsing and didn't read past this but do you really feel that persecuted and afraid to talk about religon. Perhaps you were just refering to being "attacked" in this forum which has pretty much evolved into an ongoing discussion over the subject? In the world I live in anyonewho would bad mouth religon is pretty much going to be denegrated and shunned to say the least.But I wonder why you suppose even devout religous people would give pause.

[Balloon guy 158]

I'm just browsing and didn't read past this but do you really feel that persecuted and afraid to talk about religon. Perhaps you were just refering to being "attacked" in this forum which has pretty much evolved into an ongoing discussion over the subject? In the world I live in anyonewho would bad mouth religon is pretty much going to be denegrated and shunned to say the least.But I wonder why you suppose even devout religous people would give pause.

People like to be liked.Saying something that could be diametrically opposed to the listeners point of view causes people to be hesitant. On here I think people are a lot less hesitant, but in a social setting, or under the phyciatrist's watchful eye, I can see people wanting to be sure about what they say, especially when you consider that to the Christian, presenting falsehoods about God are a big sin. Plus we do have an ulterior motive of being attractive to converts, so our answers are often tailored to be as inviting as possible. I wasn't there so I can't speak to the individual situation, but I think these are reasonable reasons for a hestitancy in an answer about religious issues in a clinical trial setting.