A Brain of an Atheist- From the Article.. Do you believe?

Question

However, nonbelievers might look at the same brain scans and say the results are just neurons firing in the brain. Margaret Downey is a devout atheist and president of Atheist Alliance International. She agreed to have her brain scanned by Newberg.

Downey is passionate about her atheism.

"The reason I became an atheist is that all the questions I had about religion -- about God -- were left unanswered, and all the evidence I asked for have never appeared to me," she said.

Downey, who has studied religion since she was a child and read the Bible cover to cover, meditated about the concept of God.

So, is the brain of an atheist different from the brain of a believer? "We have actually found some evidence that there are differences between people who are very religious or spiritual, and people who are nonreligious," said Newberg.
And Newberg said Downey's brain did seem different in the scan. Her center of focus didn't light up the way it did with nuns and Buddhists.

Answer 1

Yeah, atheist brains are different. They work.

Sorry - it was too easy. I'm a theist anyway, so I can make jokes like that. :-)

Answer 2

Center of focus ' and what does that have to do with god or religion. Some people are very focused. Einstein was very focused and he said most of his theories came from being focused. Any person who meditates can have intense focus, which again has nothing to do with religion or god. Here we are again back to the mind and body sciences. Animals smell considerably differently from us because they use what is called the Jackobson Gland at the roof of their mouths. Guess what. Humans have the same gland, but they don´t use it. If they were to use it and then use the same parts of the brain that animals use when they are being intuitive or telepathic we would be and act much differently, but we don´t and then we get these questions and statements from people who discover a tiny bit of information, hold onto it like it was a beacon and then try and shine it as if it was a beacon. The problem is age old. A little bit on knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Answer 3

I read the summary of a book called 'The God Gene'. It explains that 'people' have certain brain cells associated with religion so we're 'hard-wired' to believe in something. For most (around US), it's Christianity. I thought that sounded reasonable but my ex was a devout atheist in that he never associated with the concept. He says that when he was five, he was kicked out of Sunday School b/c of the questions he asked. Some of the ppl on here say they've been non-believers since they were five. I've been made aware of the contradictions and unlikeliness of a supernatural deity but I still don't 100% believe there is nothing. I've come to the conclusion that I don't agree with a monotheistic idea but I can't fully believe any polytheistic religion. So, I understand the inability to comprehend there is nothing. I think it would be very convincing to say the ppl who believe...their brains' are developed differently than non-believers brains'.

Answer 4

the only reason I incredibly have The God fantasy is by using the fact somebody gave me a reproduction. i've got had it for a year and have not examine any of it or the different Dawkins e book. If everyone worships him, they worship him like a rock enormous call is worshiped or they're mentally ill. If faith is only in accordance with faith, why are there maximum of believers offering arguments for it and offering their faith as reality? i don't declare to be attentive to that there's no God as a reality; an atheist by capacity of definition only states the thought there's no God, however some do take it farther and declare it as reality. and what variety of pulp fiction is the Encyclopedia Dramatica? Is that a extreme college ebook or what?

Answer 5

I guess I misunderstand your question but I thought that everyone believed in one thing or another.

Even Atheist pronounces that they are religious on their convections.

All that I gather from the information you have presented here is that nun & Buddhists scans light up more than Atheist. However, I believe in something far different than either of those. So perhaps my brain would light up differently than the Atheist, the nun's or the Buddhist.

Answer 6

I have heard on CNN there is a difference between liberal and conservative brains, so why not religious and non-religious.

I would like to think the Atheist brain is more advanced than the theist brain-so, yes, I believe.

Answer 7

Because nuns and the Buddhists think of the concept of God in a completely different way, it is no surprise their brains were working differently.

Answer 8

So god made my brain different? Or is this just not a very representative study? What is the sample size? What parts of the brain were examined?

Answer 9

lol.

something would have to trigger that center of focus wouldnt it?

what test did they use...?

regardless, one example is HARDLY worthy of any real note.

i could say hmm all christians like to run around naked in the sprinklers because my friend john who is a christian likes to do this.

... cmon now. =]

honestly if all you took was 1 from the overall population to determine what the general population is like, your not a true scientist and its obvious u arent looking for real answers. even if what u found is from an actual document, it seems biased to me. not to mention u need to document the sample group, and the standard deviation of the differences and what each difference relates to and/or how its different.

theres a lot more then scanning one single person and saying, yup _____ is different then the public.

edit: i would like to know how u know its because shes an atheist, and not because shes a different person in general. that her difference is linked to her beliefs?

Answer 10

Well well those thundies (my name for atheists, since they call us fundies) do lack something after all. It is evident from all those thundies speaking thus on this forum and all giving thumbs down to our answers...because God has not provided them with thumbs up thing.
It is but natural, since they never use their upstairs very much in Gods way, it obviously it never gets activated.

Answer 11

In what way are they different?

If you compare someone who is better at math to someone who is better at reading would the differences be similar to that of a religious person compared to a non religious person's brain?

What about someone who likes the city and someone who likes the country?

Someone who prefers salty junk food to someone who likes sweets?