We all hold beliefs that are not provable, and defining when these beliefs cross the line and become psychotic delusions is not easy. It's clear that such a line does exist, however: every town has its share of people whose religious beliefs fall sufficiently far outside the conventional that they are declared psychotic.In popular imagination, at least, psychotic delusions often have a religious
15 Vote(s)
August 10, 2010
July 6, 2010
Anxiety may be at root of religious extremism, researchers find
New findings show that anxiety and uncertainty can cause us to become more idealistic and more radical in our religious beliefs.
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9 Vote(s)
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January 28, 2010
January 1, 2010
A brief history of 2009
Happy (Gregorian) New Year everyone! Let's kick off with a traditional round-up - 2009 was a great year for new research into belief and non-belief, and here's some of the highlights!First up, brain scans. Neuroimaging studies are starting to get under the skin of religious beliefs, and several this year showed the religious beliefs seem to tap into the neural pathways used for everyday life. Fo
16 Vote(s)
16 Vote(s)
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October 27, 2009
Why does religiousness predict lower rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts? Examining the roles of religious beliefs and social support
by Michael D. Anestis, M.S. A substantial amount of research has indicated that a higher level of religiousness - a term that refers to a general tendency to adhere to a set of religious beliefs or practices shared by a...
5 Vote(s)
5 Vote(s)
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October 6, 2009
Brain patterns of belief
Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith, has just published a second brain imaging study of religious belief.Harris and his colleagues were interested in two questions. Firstly, how does the brain process ideas of 'belief' and 'disbelief' - and does it differ when you are talking about religious beliefs or other kinds of beliefs.Secondly, which bits of the brain evaluate religious beliefs, and do
14 Vote(s)
14 Vote(s)
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July 18, 2009
Religion and marital infidelity
Here's another one for the 'It's about attendance, not belief' files. It turns out that strong religious beliefs do not reduce infidelity, although regular churchgoers are more faithful. The study was published last year, but it's new to me at least (thanks to Brian Cleary for bringing it to my attention).What the investigators (David Atkins and Deborah Kessel from Fuller Theological Seminary in
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15 Vote(s)
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May 26, 2009
Religious doctors (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Researchers have investigated whether a doctor's religious beliefs can influence the way patients are treated
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12 Vote(s)
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