How open is science?

Many perceive science as the most reliable form of human knowledge because science submits itself to universal criticism. Anyone anywhere can authenticate the results of any given scientific experiment. Or at least that’s how it goes in theory. In actuality, as doctors Caroline J. Savage and Andrew J. Vickers (both from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City) discovered, scientists rarely disclose their data, even when the journal where they publish their results requires it.

Cognitive style predicts belief in God

Various religious scholars have argued that humans by default believe in God. That is, human intuition naturally leads one to theism. Psychologists Amitai Shenhav, David G. Rand, and Joshua D. Greene (all Harvard University) wanted to test this hypothesis by seeing if those who rely on intuitive reasoning are more likely to believe in God than those who typically employ reflective reasoning. They found that, indeed, preferring intuition over reflection predicts theism.

God gene does not exist

Geneticist and author Dean Hamer stirred quite the controversy when he argued for the existence of a “God gene,” that is, a gene that explains why some embrace religion and spirituality and others reject it. Essentially, an individual’s religiosity boils down to a genetic fluke. Such a view could not last long without criticism, the most recent of which comes from psychologists Laura Koenig (Kutztown University) and Matt McGue (University of Minnesota). They argue that “there is no God gene” because of the complex genetic and social interactions that lead to religiousness.

Religion and submission

Atheists frequently label religious believers “sheep:” in their view, religion acts as an opiate that causes people to follow authority blindly. They point out that authoritative texts, religious leaders, and/or deities exist in the majority of the world’s religions. Empirically investigating the truth of this stereotype, psychologists Patty van Cappellen, Olivier Corneille, Stéphanie Cols, and Vassilis Saroglou (all Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium) found that religion in and of itself does not correlate with submissive behavior, but that it appears to trigger submissiveness in individuals with submissive personalities.

Mystical experiences may share common elements

You’ve probably heard or read somewhere that all religions are different ways of approaching the same truth. This sentiment, while heartwarming, is a controversial one. Of course, conservative adherents to different faith traditions tend to dismiss claims that other religions might offer any glimpses of truth. But the debate is probably fiercest in the academy: one of the biggest arguments among scholars who study religion is whether or not religions actually have anything in common with one another. Now, a new study by researchers in Tennessee and China suggests that they do, at least when it comes to mystical experiences.

Review: Saving God

Most professors of religion seem content to stay in their ivory tower. They stand above popular-level religious debates and so have little to do with them. However, Mark Johnston (Princeton University) has decided to sully his hands by engaging the ongoing “theism/atheism” debate in Saving God: Religion after Idolatry (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009). Calling popular atheist writers Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens “undergraduate atheists” (apologizing to undergraduates who may be offended), he argues for an understanding of God free from the naiveté of undergraduate atheism and the superstition of fundamentalism.

How do you deal with threatening ideas?

What do you do when something shakes your worldview? Do you toss the book or magazine aside, muttering that the author must be an idiot? Or do you thoughtfully consider the new opinion? A large body of work suggests that the extent to which we feel threatened by new ideas affects how we behave, from our trust of outsiders to our religious stances. Now, new research from investigators in Virginia gives us even more hints, showing that people who are both mindful and curious may be the most accepting of challenging opinions.

Review: The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain

It is a pleasure to review a book about the science of spirituality that is refreshingly free of ideological axes to grind. The author of The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain: A Neurologist’s Search for the God Experience (London: Penguin Press, 2011), Kevin Nelson, is a clinical neurologist who treats patients with disorders of the brain. In his many years of practice he was impressed by the phenomenon of near death experiences (NDEs) and began to collect cases. Once he had a few dozen case histories in hand he, like many other investigators before him, noticed that these experiences evidenced some commonalities between them.

Religion and happiness: not as simple as it seems

Religion and intolerance

Religious people often receive a bad rap for being intolerant. From sexism to racism and prejudice against homosexuals, many people see plenty of reason to think of the religious as narrow-minded. However, research from Baylor University suggests that religiosity in and of itself does not correlate with prejudice, but that prejudice arises from religious fundamentalism and right-wing authoritarianism.