The Study Suggests a Certain Brain Region Plays a Key Role in the Human Tendency to Create Deities for Worship
In a fascinating intersection of science, philosophy, and spiritual traditions, recent research has shed light on the brain's role in shaping our religious beliefs.
The proper functioning of a brainstem circuit, centred around the periaqueductal grey, helps maintain our normal sense of self and reality. However, damage to this circuit can produce delusions and neurological symptoms such as alien limb syndrome. Interestingly, this same region appears to be connected to feelings of spirituality and religious experience.
A groundbreaking study has identified a neural circuit centred around the periaqueductal grey that appears directly linked to these experiences. This ancient brain structure, located in the primitive brainstem, plays crucial roles in how we process fear, pain, and social behaviours like altruism.
The connection between brains and belief is a complex one. Our brains are wired to produce spiritual states via specific neural circuits, forming what is described as Spiritual Intelligence (SQ). This suggests the brain has evolved to support these experiences intrinsically.
Our brains use predictive coding and mental “maps” that incorporate spiritual frameworks, making religiosity resilient due to identity entanglement with these belief structures. Challenging these deeply embedded mental maps can feel like an existential threat, which explains why religious beliefs often persist even against contradictory evidence.
Spiritual practices physically reshape the brain through neural plasticity, reinforcing religious tendencies. This mirrors findings in cognitive neuroscience about habit and identity formation. Furthermore, cases such as split-brain patients make clear that aspects of spiritual experiences and beliefs transcend simple localised brain functions, suggesting a deeply integrated neurocognitive basis for spirituality.
Researchers have identified distinct neural signatures associated with religious states, including areas of the frontal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, and the default mode network. These findings support the idea that the human brain is wired to experience and maintain spirituality, which accounts for the universality and persistence of religiosity across cultures and history.
The periaqueductal grey's involvement suggests that religious belief may have helped our ancestors manage existential fear by providing explanatory frameworks for frightening events. Furthermore, religious belief may have promoted group cohesion by encouraging shared values and cooperative behaviours.
It's important to note that identifying neural correlates of religious experience doesn't "explain away" spirituality; the relationship between brain activity and subjective experience remains a mystery. However, this research provides valuable insights into the biological underpinnings of religious belief and its impact on human behaviour and society.
From an evolutionary perspective, religious devotion continues to thrive across human societies, suggesting it serves important psychological or social functions. In unpredictable environments where group cooperation significantly improved survival odds, these benefits could have outweighed the costs of religious practices.
Throughout history, at least 18,000 different gods, goddesses, and various sacred objects have been venerated. Today, more than 80 percent of today's global population identifies as religious or spiritual in some form. This persistent human tendency toward religiosity is a testament to the brain's role in shaping our beliefs and experiences.
As we continue to unravel the mysteries of the brain and spirituality, one thing is clear: the relationship between brains and belief will remain a fascinating nexus where science, philosophy, and spiritual traditions intersect.
- The brain, being wired to produce spiritual states via specific neural circuits, also supports mental health and wellness, as evidenced by therapies and treatments that leverages neuroplasticity to reshape the brain.
- The universal and persistent nature of religious belief across cultures suggests a connection between spirituality and mental health, with religious states potentially offering coping mechanisms for managing existential fear and promoting group cohesion.
