Tanya Kotze
Dina LudijiPau
The Mind, Consciousness, and Perception:
The Neuroscience of Belief
Religion and belief are some of the oldest concepts in the history of mankind. Ever since we began to
live together in families, small communities and cultures, we welcomed religion into our lives. Religion
helped us function in a society by uniting us and also helped us understand the world around us.
“Religion has the hallmarks of an evolved behavior, meaning that it exists because it was favored by
natural selection. It is universal because it was wired into our neural circuitry before the ancestral
human population dispersed from its African homeland” (Wade). As to why we believed, and still do, in
gods, spirits, the Devil, ghosts and so on, is simple. Man has always questioned everything. Today we
are asking why do we believe in irrational concepts like religion or the supernatural, just as ancient
civilizations centuries ago asked questions like why do we have a sun? Why do people die, and even why
do we have fire. Religious beliefs stemmed from our natural curiosity about the world. People relied on
myths and stories about supernatural entities and immortal gods to create order in our all too chaotic
world. People, even today, like reason because it is comforting. Nobody wants to believe that a
devastating tornado is entirely random and without purpose, especially since that presents the
inevitable possibility that it can and will, without warning, happen again. They like to hear instead that
the tornado was the result of a dissatisfied god and it is easily preventable through the simple medium
or offerings and prayer. Therefore in ancient times the unexplained was simply explained through
religion and the supernatural. As our civilizations made more and more scientific breakthroughs and
learnt more about the natural world, some religions and gods became obsolete. Questions still remain
and religious reassurance still plays a large part in our societies today. Rather than answering why there
is day and night, beliefs these days tend to try and answer harder questions like what is the meaning of
life, why are here and what happens after we die (Wade).
Roger Darlington argues that “beliefs that lack reason and rationality and are supported by very little or
no evidence” are categorized as “weird things”. His philosophy is that in regards to concepts like heaven,
hell, prayer, alien abduction, clairvoyance and the like, “there is no evidence of any of these things, so I
do not believe in them” (Darlington). While this is perfectly rational to say, belief is not that simple.
Despite lacking conclusive evidence, people do still believe in these ‘weird things’. Our religions and
beliefs, or lack thereof, are based on thousands of years of history and culture. Belief is not simply a
question of evidence or logic; it is a question of one’s upbringing, social conditioning, ancestry and
countless other factors. There are numerous psychological and societal reasons behind why someone
would be more inclined to trust in a god for salvation, or in a psychic for their fortune, but even further
beyond that is another field of science, called neurotheology, which has begun to search even deeper as
to why we believe at all. Neurotheology looks directly at the correlation between religion, belief and our
brains. In other words, why our brain allows us to believe in ‘weird things’ (Darlington).
Evolutionary biologist Lionel Tiger believes that “Religion
is really made by the brain. It is a secretion of the brain.”
Tiger believes that our brains create religious belief in
order to experience that ‘secretion’- or serotonin- which
creates a feeling of well-being in the believer’s brain. Tiger
Tanya Kotze
Dina LudijiPau
has connected the social aspects of religion with the generation of serotonin. “Attending a religious
service, for example, can be a flurry of social activity and controlled procedure, which releases a cocktail
of serotonin-led neurotransmitters in the brain” (Cookson). The social aspects of religion have also been
linked to activity in the frontal lobes. Neurotheologists and other scientists have been trying to pinpoint
the exact neural area in which religious belief is controlled- referred to as the “God spot”. Research has
found that there is not however, just one single area that pertains to religious belief, but several areas
spread out around a neural network comprised of the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes. “Religious
belief and behavior are a hallmark of human life, with no accepted animal equivalence, and found in all
cultures,” says Jordan Grafman, a professor from the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke, in Bethesda, Maryland. “Our results are unique in demonstrating that specific components
of religious belief are mediated by well-known brain networks, and they support contemporary
psychological theories that ground religious belief within evolutionary-adaptive cognitive functions”
(“Belief and the Brain’s God Spot”). These neural ‘god spots’ would have been developed during our
evolution, suggest some evolutionary theorists, as natural selection may have favored those with
religious convictions as they could have been able to overcome hardships better, over those without
who maybe have been overwhelmed without a guiding power to trust in. In other words, those who
were religious were more likely to survive and pass on our brain’s knack for belief (Cookson, “Belief and
the Brain’s God Spot”).
Some argue that there is no ‘god spot’ however and that there are
instead certain areas that deal with belief in general, religious or
not. A study found in the journal ‘Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences’ analyzed the brains of subjects using a
‘magnetic-resonance imaging machine’ to find the most energetic
areas of the brain. Participants were asked to think about various
moral and religious questions and problems. The study found that
people with varying religious background and atheists alike, all
tended to engage the same neural circuits to answer an ethical
dilemma, and the same pathways were also used when religious
people were asked to consider issues concerning God. From this
study scientists were able to find that there are numerous areas in
the brain which are connected to religious belief. One of these is
found exclusively in humans and is located in the cortex’s frontal
lobes, and another was found in the more ancient areas developed during evolution, further inside the
brain, which is also found in apes and other primates. Grafman says “There is nothing unique about
religious belief in these brain structures. Religion doesn’t have a ‘God spot’ as such; instead it’s
embedded in a whole range of other belief systems that we use every day.” Neuroimaging has also
shown that the same regions of our brains that are more active when a Christian rejects an idea contrary
to their beliefs (like God is a myth) are the same regions that become more active when an atheist
affirms his belief in a similar statement. In other words, whether or not you argue that God is real or
God is not real, your brain is using the same region to generate those beliefs (“Belief and the Brain’s God
Spot”).
Tanya Kotze
Dina LudijiPau
Nevertheless, many experiments have been done to try and locate a neural religious center. Early
studies lead some scientists to the brain’s temporal lobe because patients suffering from seizures and
epilepsy in this region often reported having intense religious experiences. Vilayanur Ramachandran of
the University of California, San Diego, asked several volunteers with temporal-lobe epilepsy to listen to
various words; sexual, neutral and religious. He measured their levels of arousal and emotional reaction
and found that sexual words and neutral words registered low and normal levels, respectively, while
religious words resulted in an unusually high response in the patients. Another experiment involved a
helmet, named the “God-Helmet”, which neuroscientist Michael Persinger would place on the head of a
subject which the helmet generates weak complex magnetic fields to stimulate the temporal lobes.
Persinger reported that many subjects reported experiencing mystical and altered states and sensing a
strange presence nearby. He reported that at least 80% of his subjects experienced a presence with
them in the room and about one percent identified this
presence as God. From their experiences one can
hypothesize that spiritual feelings and God are the
subjective experience of a strange kind of brain
function. "One could try to conclude one way or the
other that maybe it’s the biology or maybe God's really
in the room, but the scan itself doesn't really show
that," neurotheoligist Andrew Newberg says. "For
neurotheology to really work as a field it needs to be
very respectful and open to both perspectives" (“This Is
Your Brain On Religion”). Other studies done on
Buddhist meditators suggested that another region
involved with religious belief, in particular prayer giving
the impression that one is in a higher plane of
existence, were the parietal lobes located in the upper
back region of the brain. Andrew Newberg, of the University of Pennsylvania studied how the brain
reacted during intense meditation by injecting his subjects like a radioactive isotope as they reached a
state of nirvana through their meditation. With a special camera he could observe the dispersal of the
substance which led him to identify the parietal lobes as a key part of experiencing a transcendental
state- or nirvana. Decreased activity in the parietal lobes has also been linked to some religious
experiences as well. Another study published in February observed the levels of spiritual beliefs and
behavior in patients before and after brain surgery. Researchers found that some specific sites in the
brain affected religiosity in patients when damaged. In particular, damage to the parietal lobe altered
what are usually relatively stable levels of spirituality and behavior. This suggested that the brain and
changes within due to neurological or mental disorders may be a cause of altered levels of spiritual and
religious behavior (“This Is Your Brain On Religion”).
Some scientists have even researched if there is a genetic reason for whether or not people are inclined
to believe in religion or the supernatural. Geneticist Dean Hamer claims to have found a single gene
VMAT2 (the Vesicular Monoamine transporter 2) – a God gene – which he identifies as “a leading gene
among many others written into our genetic code that predisposes people to religiosity” (Cookson).
Tanya Kotze
Dina LudijiPau
Hamer sought to identify the specific genes connected with self-transcendence – essentially a measure
of how spiritual one is – by analyzing DNA and personality scores from more than 1000 subjects and
eventually narrowed his search down to one gene, VMAT2. VMAT2 works to regulate the levels of
serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine in our brains, and in turn can create some of the feelings some
associate with spiritual experiences, like feeling the presence of God or experiencing a mystic state of
mind. Hamer also hypothesized that the reason this gene was passed down through evolution is
because self-transcendence increases optimism in humans which makes us more healthy and inclined to
reproduce more. Again this supports the idea that evolution and the survival of the fittest resulted in
our brain’s inclination to be religious, whether it stems from the idea that those who were religious
were more likely to survive, or if it stems from a neurological drive in us for inclusion and social living.
For this gene to be passed down it is suggested that spiritual humans were favored by natural selection,
perhaps because they displayed a higher sense of optimism than others, an optimism which encouraged
survival and the urge to live (Cookson).
According to Sharon Begley, neurotheologists, neurobiologists and evolutionary psychologists have
arrived at a general consensus that both religious faith and also fringe beliefs such as the belief in
psychics, ghosts, aliens and astrology etc. “arise from the same mental processes that underlie everyday
reasoning and perception” (“Why We Believe”). Some minds are more susceptible to believing in the
supernatural, as somebody whose mind is open and more likely to rely on emotions like hope and
despair rather than on evidence would be quicker to trust an assumption rather than evidence of an
actual occurrence. For example in 1854 Sir Roger Tichborne, son of Lady Tichborne, went missing on the
coast of Brazil. Twelve years later an imposter from Australia claimed to be her son and Lady Tichborne
happily believed him, granting him £1000 each year despite the fact the fact that the imposter bore no
resemblance to her missing son. While Sir Roger had been thin, tattooed with blue eyes the imposter
was the opposite. Additionally the imposter had a birthmark on his chest which Sir Roger did not.
Lawsuits later claimed that the man was indeed an imposter as the evidence clearly showed. However
the reason that Lady Tichborne wholeheartedly accepted this man was her son is for similar reasons as
to why we believe in the supernatural. Contrary to popular belief the brain does not construct reality
starting with perception. The brain’s sensory regions like vision are overridden by other systems like
processes that deal with our emotions and attention. When our attention is not engaged instead of
paying close attention to what we see, images that reach our retina and continue through to the visual
cortex don’t continue on to be processed and examined by our brain. So in Lady Tichborne’s, and many
other cases, our brain doesn’t focus on important details and we effectively blind ourselves, just like
people who are described as being ‘blinded by faith.’ Neuroimaging shows that additionally our senses
can be overridden by our cognitive and emotional brain regions constantly being in communication. In
some situations this will heighten our perception such as when we are scared, our hearing is sharpened.
However this effect can override our senses as well, making it easier to believe something which is
usually unbelievable (“Why We Believe”).
Historically people tend to become more superstitious and more likely to believe in the paranormal such
as ESP and astrology in times of anxiety and distress. Bruce Hood, psychology researcher at University
of Bristol, says, “In the absence of perceived control people become susceptible to detecting patterns in
Tanya Kotze
Dina LudijiPau
an effort to regain some sense of organization” Studies show that recently, people who were asked to
remember a time when they lacked control in a situation picked up on more patterns in random sounds
and saw more conspiracies in stories that they were showed than other subjects (“Why We Believe”).
Our brains don’t just allow us to believe in religion or the supernatural, they encourage us. Blurring our
perceptions is but one part of how our brain ‘tricks’ us into thinking without evidence. Our brain also
aids in out of body experiences and religious epiphanies. In our superior parietal lobe, a region close to
the top and back of the brain, there is a bundle of neurons that essentially helps us distinguish where
our body ends and the physical world starts. Usually this features as a way for us to navigate our bodies
through a building or street without walking into things. When it’s not needed though, the frontal lobes
will send out a signal which turns this structure off. This usually occurs when we are falling asleep or
when somebody is having sexual intercourse. This explains the disorientation or strange things that
some may feel when they are sleeping. Brain imaging has also shown that people who partake in heavy
meditation and prayer this structure is oddly quiet. The feeling of holiness and connectedness is caused
by the fact that your mind cannot find the division between the self and the world. The wholeness
people experience when this state is linked with religious practices or even alien abductions will
encourage and strengthen their belief. Other brain functions can be ‘tricked’ into making you feel
something strange. The eyes and ears alone cannot interpret everything they see or hear respectively. In
such cases the brain will fill in the missing blanks, just like in optical illusions. The brains urge to see what
is not objectively there can lead to other ‘visions’ and paranormal interpretations. Just like the brain
completes an optical illusion, the brain will also complete the image of Satan in some smoke, or the
image of Jesus on a piece of toast, or more recently the image of a face in an ultrasound. “Perceptually,
the world is chronically ambiguous and requires an interpretation,” says anthropology professor Stewart
Guthrie at Fordham University (“Why We Believe”). According to Mark Reinecke, professor of psychiatry
and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, when we see strange, paranormal images in a
normal situation we are just “using our existing cognitive structures to make sense of an ambiguous or
amorphous stimuli” (“Why We Believe”).
While it may seem bizarre how convinced people are of these supernatural occurrences and visions,
when you ‘see’ something weird, your brain treats it just as it would treat literally seeing something.
Brain imaging illustrates how the neural areas activated when people imagine something seen or heard
are the exact same regions that are activated when you actually do see or hear something in reality. This
occurs in people suffering from schizophrenia when they hallucinate as well, and in normal people who
think of mental imagery. Even if what you see is not there, your brain treats whatever you are imagining
as real as seeing a tree or hearing a song. Your brain even creates patterns of strange experiences and
coincidences to convince you that something ‘otherwordly’ is going on. Your brain remembers more
clearly all the times that for instance, you thought about somebody who then suddenly calls you, yet it
ignores all the times that doesn’t happen. When this happens it is called confirmatory bias which is
when your brain remembers events and experiences better that confirm our beliefs, rather than what
contradict our beliefs. Confirmatory bias occurs now thanks to evolution and survival. When the mind
evolved if we failed to make a connection, like that rattlesnakes are dangerous, or touching fire hurts,
we could get killed. Rather than remember all the times that a rattlesnake didn’t hurt us, our brain
Tanya Kotze
Dina LudijiPau
reminded us of events like that to help us survive. This evolutionary trait helps explain why our brain so
voluntarily lets us believe that a bump in the night is an axe-wielding serial killer, or a shadowy figure in
the darkness is a blood-thirsty ghost. Our brain is wired to associate even inanimate objects with danger
because when we were evolving it was safer to assume that a big rock was a bear, because if you
instead decided the rock was a rock, yet it turned out to be a bear, you would be dead. The brain was
developed to avoid danger therefore we developed a ‘hypersensitive agency-detection device’. HADD
(for short) is an acute sensitivity to other living ‘agents’ around us, in other words we are so aware of
living ‘agents’ around us that often we perceive something inanimate as being alive. According to Dr.
Steve Novella, “Psychologists and neuroscientists in recent years have demonstrated that our brains are
hardwired to distinguish things in our environment that are alive from those that are not alive… We can
perceive agency in non-living things if they are acting as if they are agents.” Therefore viewing
something as a possible ghost or spirit is just a branch off of our hypersensitivity (“Why do we believe in
the supernatural? A neurological explanation”).
Research from various fields of science has shown that our brain is simply hard-wired to encourage us to
believe in religion or the supernatural. Evolution has developed our brains with a predisposition for
belief in order to protect us. While neurotheology does continue to find more answers as to why our
brains believe what they do, it is not a field out to prove or disprove the existence of the supernatural or
of a god. "For those individuals who want to go down the path of arguing that all of our religious and
spiritual experiences are nothing more than biological phenomena, some of this data does support that
kind of a conclusion," Andrew Newberg says. "But the data also does not specifically eliminate the
notion that there is a religious or spiritual or divine presence in the world." More and more technology
and research is becoming possible so that we can one day completely understand how our brains work
and exactly where and why our brains make the distinction of what is real and what is not – evidence or
none (“This is Your Brain on Religion”).
Tanya Kotze
Dina LudijiPau
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