![]() ![]() Some studies suggest that it may in fact be. The studies describes above might explain why religion persists-the brain both reinforces religion and changes in response to it-but how do we explain why some people are religious while others are not? If we are to accept that it is in a way an evolved train, then it follows that religion must be heritable. The authers of the study believe that the difference is likely due to the Christian doctrine of denying oneself in order to “highlight the human contingency and dependence on God.” They believe that the participants of the study were using their DMDFCs to evaluate themselves from God’s perspective rather than using their VMPFCs to evaluate themselves from their own memories and experiences as non-religious people do (Han). The DMPFC is involved in evaluating the mental states and opinions of others. However, the Christians’ brains responded to self-related stimuli with a different part of the brain-the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. When nonreligious people respond to stimuli relating to themselves or self-judgment, a part of the brain called the ventral prefrontal medial cortex is activated. The study shows that the brains of religious and nonreligious people differ in the way in which they think about the self. If reading a psalm or saying a prayer can temporarily alter the functioning of our brains, can long-term religious belief change it more permanently? One study suggests that it can. Such an experience would likely strengthen and reinforce religious belief (Heffern). The deactivation of the OAA would make it difficult for a person to distinguish between himself and the rest of the world, allowing the nuns to feel connected with God and the monks to feel one with the universe. This is the region of the brain responsible for spatial orientation, and is known as the orientation association area (OAA). The results showed a significant decrease in activity in the posterior superior parietal lobe. Andrew Newberg looked at the brains of Franciscan nuns and Tibetan Buddhist monks during prayer or meditation. In another study, it was the inactivated rather than the activated parts of the brain that were interesting. Recalling religious teachings (structured knowledge) and comforting visual memories, combined with as sensation of readiness, would probably ease the stress of the situation and give confidence to the believer (Azari). The combined activation of these parts would suggest that psalm reading or recitation makes one feel ready to act based on shared structures of knowledge and visual memories, perhaps explaining why religious individuals sometimes recite this psalm in stressful or frightening times. And recent evidence suggests that the third is involved in the automatic control of readiness for action. The second is responsible for visual memory. The first is responsible for storing well-structured knowledge and memories. Three parts of the brain were activated: the dorsilateral prefrontal, dorsomedial frontal, and medial parietal cortices. One study looked at the brains of students reading a psalm. The answer may be in the wiring of our brains, By scanning the brains of people during religious activity, scientists can see which parts of the brain are involved. Science has discovered why the sun rises and why giraffes have their necks, and now some scientists are trying to find out why religion persists. Why are we here? Why does the sun rise? Why do giraffes have such long necks? The combination of our evolutionary need to establish cause and our limited ability to do so inevitably leads us to create stories, or myths, or religions about that which we cannot rationally explain. But there are many whys that we do not have simple answers to. ![]() Knowing why an event occurred allows us to prevent or encourage its reoccurrence. The desire to understand cause and effect is a basic human characteristic, one that undoubtedly would have been advantageous to our ancestors struggling to survive in the prehistoric jungles of Africa. New scientific evidence is suggesting that the neuronal pathways of our brain both reinforce religious belief and are altered by it. ![]() Why do people believe that there is a god? Some experts, such as anthropologist Scott Atran, believe that our propensity for religious belief is a byproduct of evolution (Brooks). ![]()
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