Your Brain on Religion: Uncovering the Science of Belief
From Pope Francis to Phil Robertson (who claimed "homosexuality is a primal sin"): why are some believers generous and righteous, while others are fools?
In my view, the most interesting question regarding religion is not whether God exists, but why so many people believe. There are approximately 10,000 different religions in the world, each convinced it alone holds the world’s sole truth, and hatred of the "infidel" seems to be a constituent part of faith itself. Around 1500, the church reformer Martin Luther described Jews as a "brood of vipers." Over many centuries, Christian hatred of Jews led to their persecution and culminated in the Holocaust. In 1947, when British India was "partitioned" into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan, over one million people were slaughtered. Since then, hatred between different faiths has not disappeared. From 2000 to the present, 43% of civil wars have been religious in nature.
Nearly 64% of the world's population is Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, or Hindu. Religious belief is thus deeply rooted. For many years, Communism was the only permitted "faith" in China; religion was banned because, in the Marxist tradition, it was treated as "the opium of the people," poisoning the masses. Yet in 2007, one-third of Chinese people over the age of 16 identified themselves as having religious beliefs. Since this data was released by the state-controlled media China Daily, the true figure is likely at least that high. About 95% of Americans claim to believe in God, 90% pray, 82% believe God can perform miracles, and over 70% believe in an afterlife. Surprisingly, however, only 50% believe in Hell, indicating a certain lack of consistency in their beliefs. In the Netherlands, a more secularized nation, the religious population is much lower. A study conducted in April 2007 showed that over 40 years, the process of secularization (the separation of education and religion) in the Netherlands grew from 33% to 61%. More than half of the Dutch doubt the existence of a higher power—they are either agnostics or believe in an unspecified "something." Only 14% of the population are atheists, the same proportion as Protestants. Catholics are slightly more numerous at 16%.
In 2006, at a symposium in Istanbul, Herman van Praag, a professor of biological psychiatry representing the 95% religious population of the United States, tried to convince me that atheism is "abnormal." "That depends on who you're comparing yourself to," I replied. A 1996 survey of American scientists showed that only 39% were religious, a much smaller figure than the national average. Among elite scientists (defined in this survey as members of the National Academy of Sciences), only 7% admitted to being religious. Almost no Nobel Prize winners are religious. Among the distinguished scientists who are members of the Royal Society in the UK, only 3% are religious. Furthermore, meta-analyses show a correlation between atheism, level of education, and IQ. Thus, the proportion of religious belief varies greatly across different groups; clearly, the degree of atheism correlates with intelligence, education, academic contribution, and an active interest in the natural sciences. There are also differences between scientists of different disciplines: biologists are less likely than physicists to believe in God and an afterlife. Therefore, it is less than surprising that the majority (78%) of distinguished evolutionary biologists surveyed claimed to be materialists (i.e., believing that matter is the only reality). Nearly three-quarters of them (72%) view religion as a social phenomenon that emerged alongside human evolution. They see religion as part of evolution, rather than in conflict with it.
Indeed, it appears that religion must have provided certain evolutionary advantages. The acceptance of religion is determined by spirituality, and twin studies show that spirituality is 50% determined by genetics. Spirituality is a trait that everyone possesses to a greater or lesser degree, even if they have no faith. Religion is the transformation of our spiritual feelings by local culture. Whether one is religious or not is certainly not a "free" decision. The environment in which we grow up causes our parents' religious beliefs to be imprinted into our early developing brain circuits in a manner similar to a native language. Chemical messengers like serotonin influence our degree of spirituality: the number of serotonin receptors in the brain correlates with spirituality scores. Substances that affect serotonin, such as hallucinogens like LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline (from the peyote cactus), and psilocybin (from "magic mushrooms"), can induce magical and spiritual experiences. Substances that affect the brain's opioid system can also lead to spiritual experiences.
Dean Hamer believes he has discovered the gene that presets a person’s degree of spirituality, as described in his book The God Gene (2004). However, since that gene will likely prove to be just one of many genes at work, he would have done better to change his title to A God Gene. The gene in question codes for the VMAT2 (vesicular monoamine transporter 2) protein, which packages chemical messengers (monoamines) into vesicles for transport within nerve fibers; it plays a critical role in many brain functions.
A child’s religious programming begins as soon as they are born. The British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is quite right to be incensed by labels like "Christian child," "Muslim child," or "Jewish child," because young children have no beliefs of their own; beliefs are imposed on them by their Christian, Muslim, or Jewish parents during their most impressionable stage. Dawkins correctly points out that society would not tolerate a four-year-old being labeled an atheist, humanist, or agnostic; people should teach children how to think, not what they should think. Dawkins argues that programmed belief is a byproduct of evolution. Children accept warnings and teachings from parents and other authorities immediately and without argument, which protects them from danger but also makes young children gullible and easy to indoctrinate. This may explain the universal tendency for people to retain their parents’ faith. As the foundation of social learning, imitation is an extremely effective mechanism. We even have a distinct mirror neuron system for the purpose of imitation. In this way, religious ideas—such as the afterlife, the reward of 72 virgins in heaven for dying as a martyr, the punishment of non-believers, and the idea that believing in God is more important than anything else—are passed down through generations, etched into our brain circuits. We know from those around us how difficult it is to rid oneself of concepts instilled since early development.
The Evolutionary Advantages of Religion
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich." — Napoleon Bonaparte
The evolution of modern humans produced five behavioral traits found in all cultures: language, tool-making, music, art, and religion. With the exception of religion, precursors for all these behavioral traits can be found in the animal kingdom. For humans, the evolutionary advantages of religion are obvious.
(1) First, religion binds groups together.
Despite the Diaspora, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust, the Jewish people remain linked by their faith. For leaders, faith is an excellent tool. As Seneca the Younger said: "Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful." Religion utilizes various mechanisms to hold a group together.
One is the indoctrination that intermarrying with non-believers (i.e., heathens) is a sin. An old Dutch proverb says, "Two faiths on one pillow, the devil sleeps between them." This principle is the same across all religions, accompanied by punishments and warnings. Segregating education based on faith makes it easier to reject others, as ignorance breeds contempt.
Another is the imposition of various social rules in the name of God, sometimes accompanied by terrifying threats regarding the fate of rule-breakers. For instance, one of the Ten Commandments uses the threat of a curse that "reaches to the fourth generation." In the Old Testament, blasphemy is strictly punished, and it remains a capital offense in Pakistan today. Threats also made the church wealthy and powerful. In the Middle Ages, people spent vast fortunes buying "indulgences" to shorten their time suffering in Purgatory. The preacher Johann Tetzel, famous for selling indulgences, allegedly said: "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs." Until the beginning of the last century, Catholic priests still automatically received varying amounts of indulgences as compensation based on their ecclesiastical rank. Threats and intimidation remain effective today. In Colorado, a pastor introduced the concept of "Hell Houses," where fundamentalist Christian schools send children to terrify them with the prospect of eternal punishment in the afterlife if they do not follow the rules.
A further binding mechanism is making individuals identifiable as members of the group. This can take the form of distinctive markers, such as black clothing, yarmulkes, crosses, hijabs [1], or burqas; it can be physical characteristics, such as circumcision performed on boys and girls; or it can be knowledge of scriptures, prayers, and rituals. To receive the protection of your peers, you must be able to recognize who belongs to the group. This mechanism is so powerful that it makes attempts to ban people from wearing distinctive jewelry, clothing, or items like hijabs seem pointless. In American churches, social interaction within the group also brings considerable benefits and plays a major role. For centuries, various faiths have strengthened intra-group intimacy by worshiping their respective sacred relics. In temples across China and Japan, Buddha relics [2] are found in vast quantities; there are also overwhelming numbers of fragments of the True Cross, so many that Erasmus said a fleet could be built from them, but this is irrelevant. The key is that these objects allow the group to huddle together. More than 20 churches claim to possess the Holy Prepuce of Jesus, and the intention is the same. (According to Jewish tradition, Jesus was circumcised eight days after birth). Some theologians believe Jesus’s foreskin grew back during his Ascension. However, according to the 17th-century theologian Leo Allatius, the Holy Prepuce ascended separately and then transformed to form the rings of Saturn.
Finally, most religions have regulations encouraging procreation, which also makes the prohibition of contraception a rule. By bearing children and indoctrinating them, the faith can spread, making the community of believers larger and stronger.
(2) The precepts and taboos imposed on believers by religion have traditional advantages.
In addition to the protection provided by the group, social interactions and customs (such as Halal food) offer certain health benefits. Even today, multiple studies suggest that religious belief is associated with better mental health outcomes, reflected in life satisfaction, better mood, greater happiness, less depression, fewer suicidal tendencies, and fewer addictive behaviors. However, the causality of these correlations has not been proven, nor is the link between them certain. Furthermore, the incidence of depression only decreases in women. Men who attend church regularly are actually more likely to suffer from depression. A study in Israel showed that, contrary to the researchers' hypothesis, the risk of developing dementia after 35 years of living a religious life was double the normal rate. Other studies show a positive correlation between prayer and psychiatric issues.
(3) Relgious believers can seek solace and help during difficult times.
Conversely, atheists, unable to obtain divine assistance, can only resolve difficulties through their own efforts. Believers, however, can comfort themselves with the thought that "God must have a purpose for making them experience suffering." In other words, they perceive their predicament as a trial or a punishment—as something possessing inherent meaning. "Because humans act with a certain purpose, they assume that the actions of God are also purposeful," said Spinoza [3]. He concluded that people believe in a personified God because humans assume all things around them were created for human use by a being who governs nature. Thus, they view all disasters—such as earthquakes, accidents, volcanic eruptions, infectious diseases, and floods—as punishments meted out by that being. Spinoza believed that religion is a desperate act performed to avoid divine wrath.
(4) God can be used to answer all unknowns.
Faith can make you optimistic ("I sing with joy / For with Jesus as my friend I am steadfast and strong"). Faith also offers a promise that even if suffering is heavy now, the afterlife will certainly be better. Curiously, religious believers always claim that faith adds "meaning" to their lives, as if they could not live meaningfully without divine intervention.
(5) Another advantage of religion is that it seems to distance people from the fear of death.
All religions promise an afterlife. Belief in an afterlife can be traced back over 100,000 years. We can see glimpses of this in objects found in tombs—food, water, tools, hunting weapons, and toys. Cro-Magnon humans also buried vast quantities of jewelry with the deceased, much like the customs still preserved by Asians today. You must be well-dressed in the next life. However, being religious does not always make one unafraid of death. Moderately religious people are often more afraid of death than either fanatical believers or those who only believe a little; this is understandable when one realizes how frequently religion uses fear as a means of binding its followers. Many people feel a degree of uncertainty regarding the afterlife promised by religion. Richard Dawkins' question is well-founded: "If they were sincere, shouldn't they all be like the Abbot of Ampleforth? When Cardinal Basil Hume told him he was dying, the Abbot was happy for him: 'Congratulations! That's good news. I wish I could go with you.'"
(6) Religion has long possessed a very important attribute: allowing the slaughter of other groups in the name of one's own God.
This characteristic combines aggression, group identification based on faith, and discrimination against others; its evolutionary advantage is obvious. For millions of years, humans developed in an environment where food was only sufficient to support one's own kin-group. Any other group encountered on the savannah posed a mortal threat and had to be destroyed. Evolutionary traits such as aggression and tribalism are not eliminated after just a few generations of living with central heating. This also explains why xenophobia remains prevalent in our society. The entire world is full of conflicts between groups of different faiths. Since ancient times, the "Peace of God" has been imposed upon others in the form of sword and fire. This situation is unlikely to change quickly.
Belonging to a group brings many advantages, albeit at a price. The protection provided by the group increases an individual's chances of survival against other groups. But the damage caused by religion—largely toward outsiders, but also toward group members themselves—is immense. Although it seems this situation will not last forever. A study by the British politician Evan Luard [4] shows that since the Middle Ages, the nature of war has changed; durations have gradually shortened and the number of wars has decreased. Therefore, we might maintain a cautious optimism. In a society with a globalized economy and information, the evolutionary advantage of religion in binding groups and using aggression to eliminate outsiders will cease to exist; these two characteristics will become less important after thousands of years. In this way, by breaking free from the shackles of outdated religious precepts, true freedom and humanity will become possible for all, regardless of what they believe—or if they believe nothing at all.
The Religious Brain
"A man's excitement can be achieved through tea, tobacco, opium, whisky, and religion." — George Bernard Shaw
That spiritual experiences lead to changes in brain activity is logical; it neither proves nor disproves the existence of God. After all, everything we do, think, and experience causes such changes. These discoveries merely increase our understanding of the various brain structures and systems that play a role in both "normal" religious experiences and those resulting from certain neurological or psychiatric disorders.
Functional scans of Japanese monks show that different types of meditation stimulate different brain regions—specifically portions of the prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex. Religious belief is also associated with reduced activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), as is political conservatism. Although the causality of this correlation is unclear, it is interestingly contrasted by the fact that proactive behavior is associated with increased ACC activity. When Carmelite nuns undergo mystical experiences of being alone with God, their EEGs show dramatic changes. In this state, people may also feel as if they have found ultimate truth, lost all sense of time and space, reached harmony with humanity and the universe, and are filled with peaceful joy and infinite love. Neuropharmacological research shows that the activation of the dopamine reward system plays a key role in these experiences. This is also instructive for certain brain diseases. For example, Alzheimer's disease is associated with a gradual loss of religious interest. The slower the progression of the disease, the less the patient is influenced by religion and spirituality. Conversely, religious fanaticism is associated with frontotemporal dementia, mania, obsessive-compulsive behavior, schizophrenia, and temporal lobe epilepsy. It is known that these types of mental disorders lead to a more active dopamine reward system.
During functional scans, Carmelite nuns were asked to recall their most mystical Christian experiences. The scans revealed complex activation patterns in various parts of the brain. Activation occurred in: (1) the mid-temporal lobe, possibly related to the feeling of being alone with God (this area is also activated during temporal lobe epilepsy, sometimes leading to intense religious experiences); (2) the caudate nucleus (an area that processes emotion), possibly related to feelings of joy and infinite love; and (3) the brainstem, insular cortex, and prefrontal cortex, possibly related to the physical and autonomic responses that arise along with these emotions and cortical consciousness. Finally, the parietal cortex was also activated, possibly related to changes in the perception of one's own body, similar to near-death experiences.
Spiritual experiences and pathological symptoms are sometimes difficult to distinguish. The former can lose control, leading to psychological illness. Intense religious experiences occasionally trigger brief psychotic episodes. Paul Verspeek, while hosting a radio show on Boxing Day 2005 (the first working day after Christmas), asked a psychiatrist: if Jesus returned to Earth, how would one recognize him? How would one distinguish Christ himself from a psychiatric patient claiming to be Christ? The psychiatrist was stumped. In the 1960s, the popularity of meditation and psychedelic drugs led many people to develop psychological problems. They could not control their spiritual experiences, leading to psychological, social, and occupational dysfunction. However, in some cultures and religions, voluntary acts of meditation, trance, depersonalization, and derealization are common and cannot be regarded as symptoms of mental disorder. Some things classified as fraud or absurdity in Western culture—such as magic, shamanism, and sorcery—are considered normal in other cultures. Some cultures also treat religious visions and auditory hallucinations (such as seeing the Virgin Mary or hearing the voice of God) as normal religious experiences. Nevertheless, a large proportion of psychotic patients are religious, as their condition often promotes an interest in spiritual experiences. Many also use religion as a means of coping with mental disorders. Therefore, religion-related issues always need to take into account what is considered "normal" in a specific era or cultural environment. Only through this method can "pure" religion be distinguished from spiritual problems and neurological or psychiatric issues.
(Author: D.F. SWAAB, excerpted from We Are Our Brains, http://www.salon.com) Web Editor: Jiafei