Only in the past decade have we truly been able to start mapping the human brain of people during deep meditation, prayer, intense spiritual experiences, and religious epiphanies. Neural scans of the brains of Carmelite nuns, Zen Buddhist masters, adept Indian Yogis, and indigenous shamans when in deep and profound states of transcendence all report similar findings. There exist specific areas in the brain that fire when we connect to the sacred and pray to the divine. The primary areas are the temporal and frontal lobes in the brain where this phenomenon occurs. Watch video While I don’t advocate that these areas of the brain are the cause of religious experiences, there does appear to be a correlation between these areas of the brain and heightened spiritual states of consciousness. Even more astounding is that the results indicate that when these exact same areas of the brain are intentionally triggered using a magnetic device for those who claim to be atheists, similar experiences of awe and reverence for something transcendent are felt. The findings imply the possibility that regardless if you’re a true religious believer, a secularist, or an atheist, the same neural mechanisms of the human brain are responsible for processing the sacred and the divine.
So what exactly accounts for the reason our brains are wired to fire during contemplation, prayer, and meditation? One possible explanation into the neurobiology of belief in the divine might be an evolutionary strategy for survival of the species. If you’re wondering how religious belief in a transcendent being might have been key for survival of our species, it likely has to do with a biological need we humans have to make sense of the world. Imagine our early human ancestors having to cope with the hardships of a brutal life of surviving constant threats to survival. In the same way that human emotions such hope, faith, and trust might have evolved within the human psyche to cope in times of calamity and constant uncertainty, our human brain might also have developed a neurobiological mechanism for humans to survive in times of strife and suffering. That evolutionary trait would have created a neural structure in the human brain, ultimately passing down to us modern humans.
Another way to examine the issue is that religion might have evolved in the same way that humans developed the need for language. Regardless of the human neurobiological necessity to believe in a higher power, it appears that every human brain is wired to experience the divine, even in atheists! In the same way that every human brain is wired to acquire and speak a human language, it’s possible that every human brain is equally capable and neurologically wired to experience the divine. You might even think of religion as a form of language, a sacred language that enables us to communicate with the aspects of life that cause us wonder, awe, and reverence for the sacred. Just as every healthy brain of a baby is capable of acquiring any language in the world, similarly every human brain has the ability to acquire a religion. In the same way that English really isn’t inherently better than French, Arabic, Mandarin, or Swahili to express human thoughts and to share conceptual knowledge, likewise no religion is inherently better equipped to experience the numinous and divine. When viewed in this light, it really begins to seem pointless for humans to squabble over which religion is inherently superior to another. In the same vein, it would appear illogical to argue that English is ultimately better equipped to express human thoughts and ideas than Hebrew, Swedish, or Japanese.
Even if you choose not to believe in a divine power or subscribe to a particular religion, there are equally many positive health benefits to cultivating a spiritual practice. Whether you choose to practice prayer, meditation, mindfulness, or silent contemplation in nature, your brain experiences the same neural effects, all of which have tremendously beneficial health benefits for the body. Numerous studies indicate that regular prayer or meditation reduces stress while promoting immune system function and greater levels of wellbeing. Even more remarkable is that belief in a benign rather than a punitive deity reduces anxiety and increases feelings of love and compassion for self and others. By far the most amazing news to come out of contemplative neuroscience is that regular prayer and meditation can literally rewire your brain to change your attitude towards life for the better.
Ultimately, the human need to experience faith and to commune with divine might have been a biological tool for survival among our early ancestors. It is likely this evolutionary reason why we observe that every human culture throughout history and every indigenous society observed around the world all have a form of religious worship. Just as the human species evolved areas in the brain for linguistic communication, neuroscience is equally suggesting that religious communication with the divine accounts for the universal human need to experience the sacred. While the ability to acquire a language is still a crucial and fundamental trait for human expression, it might just be that religion and faith are an equally necessary means for humans to engage with the sacred, the holy, and the divine elements of existence.
Dr. Jay Kumar
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