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Originally Posted by Turtle
I expect that is taken into account in the studies so far conducted. I'll do some looking if you don't beat me to it. 
Simple? No. Nevertheless many things about the brain's hardwired functions are cross cultural. For example Noam Chomski's study of language in children reveals that all babies, regardless of culture or parentage, coo & babble in exactly the same way. Again, if you don't beat me to references on this I will return to it.
Looking at other brain structure studies oriented to behavior extremes such as criminal behavior demonstrate just how powerful an influence it is. Yes there are all manner of other influences but it is a matter of predisposition in regard to the hardwired structure. For a different body structural consideration think "white men can't jump", and add "no matter how hard they train."
I find it interesting that for as long as this thread has been here that neither 'side' has the taste for it. I presume the believers don't like it because it suggests that a proper real-time brainscan while they pray would demonstrate a brain activity pattern previously identified by the the bio-theologists as 'highly religious' or some such categorization. Bummer. |
I'm partial to the cognitive/evolutionary explanations offered by
Boyer and
Atran and others in similar camps. They are both anthropologists who study culture and cognition with an evolutionary perspective, in a way similar to how thinkers like
Steven Pinker have expanded upon the innate language ideas of Chomski with an evolutionary perspective.
The article in the OP has much interesting information about extreme spiritual experience, but according to Atran(in "In Gods We Trust") these are not the experience of your average religious believer. Most people do not experience seizures, practice meditation or trance states, or have fits of
glossolalia.
Here is the summary/conclusion of Atran's chapter "Waves of Passion" addressing the frontal lobe theories of Persinger etc..:
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Originally Posted by Atran
Summary: Mystical Episodes Inspire New Religions, but Don't Make Religion
Stressful personal episodes become religious experiences by instantiating publicly relevant schemas. Within such cultural schemas, even the eccentric voices and visions of clinically diagnosed schizophrenics and epileptics can become publicly sanctioned revelations, as they are in some societies. The religious hallucinations and delusions of schizophrenics, the sensory enlightenments of temporal lobe epileptics(possibly the Apostle Paul, more likely Saint Theresa de Avila), and the mystical visions and voices of persons are at the extreme end of the "normal" distribution(Jacob, Jesus, Mohammed, Paliau, Maharishi Yogi?).
In historically seminal moments, their unpredictable, "miraculous" revelations have undoubtedly inspired common belief in divine intention and grace. Malfunctioning or hyperactive theories of mind and intentional agency are cognitively and emotionally ripe for supernatural co-optation. Revivalist and starter cults are more likely than established religions to acknowledge the divine character of these more extreme mystical experiences. As Adam Smith noted, this is because such religious sects aim to radically reform or recreate religious obeisance "by carrying it to some degree of folly or extravagance". A startling episode of intense sensory arousal in a face-to-face encounter with the supernatural may prove unforgettable and emotive enough to permanently inculcate religious belief in a person, and perhaps jump-start new belief in society.
For the most part, however, relatively few individuals have emotionally arousing mystical experiences, at least in our society, although the overwhelming majority of individuals consider themselves to be religious believers. Neither is there any evidence that more "routine" religious experiences have a characteristic temporal lobe signature or any other specified type of brain activity pattern. The neuropsychological bases that commit the bulk of humanity to the supernatural remain a complete mystery.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Turtle
For the believer haters, if they allow that the believers literally can't help themselves then their beating up on them for their beliefs looks like what it is; simple bullying and cruelty. Quite possibly both extremes have some manner of structure that predisposes them. Bummer.
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Boyer recently published
an article in
Nature about the inevitability of religion. Here are a couple of blog responses from
Wilkins at Evolving Thoughts and
Razib at GXP. I agree with points made by both of them. One made by Wilkins is that religious fervor does fluctuate historically, and that a skeptic society is ripe for invasion by religious ideas. Denmark and Sweden may end up becoming more religious in the future, America may become more non-religious, and then bounce back.
A point Razib makes well is that supernatural beliefs are inevitable given the way our minds are set up, but institutionalized religion may not be.
Personally, I try to be optimistic, but given the cultural history of America and the competitive market of religions/cults I am not sure if we will ever end up like Sweden or Denmark.
As far as "haters" "beating up on" believers and not wanting to address the neuroscience of belief... I point you to the recent work of prominent atheist and neuroscientist
Sam Harris'(currently working on a Phd at UCLA) recent work on belief and the brain:
http://www.samharris.org/images/uplo...heth_Cohen.pdf
Review by
Oliver Sacks:
http://www.samharris.org/images/uplo..._Editorial.pdf
Recent interview in which his research and views of religion are discussed:
The Science Studio > Facts, Values and a Place for the Profound
For an overview of studies of religion as a natural phenomenon, I would recommend Daniel Dennett's "Breaking The Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon". Dennett discusses the group selection ideas of D. S. Wilson, the rational-choice models of Starke etc, the cognitive models of Boyer/Atran, and proposes some other interesting ideas. For an in depth look from the cognitive/evolutionary anthropology perspective(a bit more heavy of a read than Dennett's book) I would highly recommend Atran's "In Gods We Trust". This book was highly enjoyable to me, and there is damn near a college education in it. So many interesting scientific facts, and a lot of cool research done by Atran on cognition and innateness.
Here is an additional article covering the work of Atran, Boyer, Wilson, and others over at GXP:
Gene Expression: Levels of analysis of religion, Atran, Boyer & Wilson
