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Religion, science denial, and our evolutionary roots!

By Brian Morris - posted Tuesday, 24 October 2017


Religion is a by-product of our survival mechanisms

Many books on neuroscience and psychology explain how our innate social and survival skills can lead people to perceptions of the supernatural and to belief in gods. Perhaps the most concise text is from Dr J Anderson Thomson, 'Why we believe in Gods'.

And Thomson explains in a video how many of our survival traits have so easily been adapted to become religious "by-products" of natural brain function - in exactly the same way that reading, writing and music are simply by-products of neural activity. We are not hard-wired to read and write! There are no such centres in the brain - they are adaptations we have acquired over time. And nor are we hard-wired for religion - that is also a by-product of false limbic perceptions. As neuroscientific research explains:

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The amygdala–hippocampus complex and the inferior temporal lobe facilitate the human experience of mystical and religious experiences. It is through (these structures) that dreamlike states and visual and auditory hallucinations are experienced.

Religious thoughts/beliefs about God make use of conventional neural circuitry. This means there probably is no 'God spot' in the brain. Instead, thoughts and feelings about God are mediated by the conventional 'generic' brain circuits that are also used for other but similar neural processes.

The limbic system can therefore be seen as responsible for the emotional and mystical experiences of religion and as the controller of religious-inspired or religious-influenced actions, through its motivational drive on the prefrontal cortex.

Beliefs embedded in the limbic brain become highly personalised - it's the emotional nerve centre - and those personal beliefs help to identify who you are. Strong beliefs will be defended vigorously and any challenge can be seen as a personal attack.

We see this constantly in people who deny the Holocaust; those who reject clear evidence of climate change; of the Anti-Vaxxers; and those who swear by any of the pseudoscientific practices touted as cures for chronic illness - even though they have no basis in fact. The limbic system can suppress 'reason'.

So it's no surprise that denial of evidence is a key factor for the devoutly religious - especially Creationists - those who believe in a literal Bible. They hold as "God's truth" the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah's Flood, that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, and that human evolution is a hoax! And it's staggering to know that 34 percent of Australians believe these myths, according to the Guardian (poll at mid-article).

Social policy, religion and the limbic brain:

And it's primarily the highly religious who vehemently oppose contemporary social policy, with beliefs based on ancient scriptures. Current issues include voluntary assisted dying, marriage equality, and abortion rights for women - they are all regarded as offences against "God's law".

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This is borne out most recently by an article on the ABC's Religion and Ethics website, titled: "Opposition to Assisted Dying in Australia is Largely Religious". It states that of all Christian groups who oppose voluntary euthanasia it's fundamentalists who are most offended. The percentages are: Catholics 9.8, Anglicans 7.5, Uniting Church 7.1, and Other Christian 26.5 - those predominantly from evangelical churches.

Fear is the greatest driver of religion - and particularly the fear of death - which is exacerbated by our ability to imagine and visualise our own demise. It's unsurprising that humans invented gods and heaven to counter this confronting thought - that we all cease to exist at death.

Two psychologists concisely articulate this theme in their challenging book, 'the Worm at the Core' - and why it is that the fear of death drives so much of human behaviour, and underpins supernatural belief.

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About the Author

Brian Morris is the director of Plain Reason.

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