Cognitive and neural foundations of religious belief

We propose an integrative cognitive neuroscience framework for understanding the cognitive and neural foundations of religious belief. Our analysis reveals 3 psychological dimensions of religious belief (God's perceived level of involvement, God's perceived emotion, and doctrinal/experient...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 106; no. 12; pp. 4876 - 4881
Main Authors Kapogiannis, Dimitrios, Barbey, Aron K, Su, Michael, Zamboni, Giovanna, Krueger, Frank, Grafman, Jordan
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 24.03.2009
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
Adult
Anger
Behavioral neuroscience
Belief networks
Biological Sciences
Brain
Cognition - physiology
Cognitive psychology
Emotion
Emotional expression
Emotional states
Emotions
Female
Humans
Information processing
Knowledge
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Nervous System Physiological Phenomena
Neurosciences
Psychology
Psychology of religion
Religion
Religiosity
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Summary:We propose an integrative cognitive neuroscience framework for understanding the cognitive and neural foundations of religious belief. Our analysis reveals 3 psychological dimensions of religious belief (God's perceived level of involvement, God's perceived emotion, and doctrinal/experiential religious knowledge), which functional MRI localizes within networks processing Theory of Mind regarding intent and emotion, abstract semantics, and imagery. Our results are unique in demonstrating that specific components of religious belief are mediated by well-known brain networks, and support contemporary psychological theories that ground religious belief within evolutionary adaptive cognitive functions.
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Author contributions: D.K. and J.G. designed research; D.K. and M.S. performed research; D.K., A.K.B., M.S., G.Z., and F.K. analyzed data; and D.K., A.K.B., M.S., G.Z., F.K., and J.G. wrote the paper.
Edited by Marcus E. Raichle, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, and approved February 3, 2009
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0811717106