Whether you are a staunch atheist, a reserved agnostic, or a devout believer, you are equally likely to find the effects of religion on human brains astonishing.
Religious belief can increase our lifespan and help us better cope with disease.
| So what religions did the subjects in their test group subscribe to? Did the results apply to all tested religions the same? |
For instance, some scientists suggest that religious experience activates the same brain circuits as sex and drugs.
Other research has suggested that damage to a certain brain region can make you feel as though someone's in the room when nobody's there. Such findings have intriguing implications for how religion affects health, and vice-versa.
Also, do the neurobiological underpinnings of religious experience mean that it could be artificially recreated? If a divine experience proves to be biologically predetermined, does having the right scientific information enable us to create the illusion of a god?