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In this book, Andrew Newberg explores the latest findings of neurotheology, the multidisciplinary field linking neuroscience with religious and spiritual phenomena. He investigates some of the most controversial - and potentially transformative - implications of a neurotheological approach for the truth claims of religion and our understanding of minds and brains. Newberg leads readers on a tour through key intersections of neuroscience and theology, including the potential evolutionary basis of religion; the psychology of religion, including mental-health and brain pathology; the neuroscience of myths, rituals, and mystical experiences; how studies of altered states of consciousness shed new light on the mind-brain relationship; what neurotheology can tell us about free will; and the limitations of what science can say about our religious and spiritual experience of reality. When brain science and religious experience are considered together in an integrated approach, Newberg shows, we might come closer to a fuller understanding of the deepest questions.
List of contents
Introduction: If Neurotheology Is the Answer, What Is the Question?
1. Neurotheology and the Happy Prison of the Brain
2. What is Neurotheology?
3. Neuroscience and Neurotheology
4. What is Religion from a Neurotheological Perspective?
5. What is Spirituality from a Neurotheological Perspective?
6. Neurotheology and the Evolution of Religion
7. Neurotheology and Psychology
8. Brain Pathology and Religion
9. Religious Myths and the Brain
10. The Ritualizing Brain
11. Religious and Spiritual Practices
12. The Spiritual But Not Religious Brain
13. Free Will and the Brain
14. Escaping the Prison of the Brain: Mysticism
15. The End of Faith and the Beginning of Neurotheology
Notes
Index
About the author
Andrew Newberg is the director of research at the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. His books include Why God Won’t Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief (2001), Why We Believe What We Believe: Uncovering Our Biological Need for Meaning, Spirituality, and Truth (2006), How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist (2009), and Principles of Neurotheology (2010).
Summary
Religion is often cast in opposition to science. Yet both are deeply rooted in the inner workings of the human brain. With the advent of the modern cognitive neurosciences, the scientific study of religious and spiritual phenomena has become far more sophisticated and wide-ranging. What might brain scans of people in prayer, in meditation, or under the influence of psychoactive substances teach us about religious and spiritual beliefs? Are religion and spirituality reducible to neurological processes, or might there be aspects that, at least for now, transcend scientific claims?
In this book, Andrew Newberg explores the latest findings of neurotheology, the multidisciplinary field linking neuroscience with religious and spiritual phenomena. He investigates some of the most controversial—and potentially transformative—implications of a neurotheological approach for the truth claims of religion and our understanding of minds and brains. Newberg leads readers on a tour through key intersections of neuroscience and theology, including the potential evolutionary basis of religion; the psychology of religion, including mental health and brain pathology; the neuroscience of myths, rituals, and mystical experiences; how studies of altered states of consciousness shed new light on the mind-brain relationship; and what neurotheology can tell us about free will. When brain science and religious experience are considered together in an integrated approach, Newberg shows, we might come closer to a fuller understanding of the deepest questions.
Additional text
Newberg's book will be of most value to those who are struggling to reconcile science and spirituality.
Report
A tour de force on this emerging field. This book provides a superb review of the science to date, and shows the many directions neurotheology may go in the future. This book raises profound implications for neuroscience, medicine, theology, and philosophy. Fascinating and clearly written and accessible for everyone. Truly mind-blowing. Harold Koenig, Duke University Medical Center
