If you are an atheist do you discount the scientific findings of the study of religious experiences?

Question

Likewise if you are a deist do you discount that sensing God can be reduced to a neurological phenomena?

From: Scientific American MIND October 2007
Searching for God in the Brain
Researchers are unearthing the roots of religious feeling in the neural commotion that accompanies the spiritual epiphanies of nuns, Buddhists and other people of faith.

http://www.sciammind.com/article.cfm?articleID=434D7C62-E7F2-99DF-37CC9814533B90D7

Answer 1

I do believe the scientific findings that religious experiences are in some ways a mental disorder.

Answer 2

No not at all. The open question is whether those feelings are self induced or external. Even if one has very strong religious beliefs, not every human phenomena has it's roots in the supernatural. The placebo effect whereby the body increases productions of it's own natural opiates --the beta endorphins--and reduces pain because one thinks their pain is being reduced is well known and well documented. Likewise religious states are a state of belief--and it is quite possible that these epiphanies are self induced via the beta endorphin process. That is not denying the role of religion or anything--just saying this particular case may have a very normal explanation. I rather favor this explanation as this same effect is seen not only in the Christian religious world, but in the Islamic, Buddahist, Hindu, and pagan worlds alike.
The fact that it does, would sort of indicate that either the religions are all equal to one another in the eye of whatever is considered the supreme being-or it is a process natural to human beings.

Answer 3

I think we are in the infancy stages of understanding how the mind works. I do wonder about what the real implications of this are and its impossible to say for sure. Religious people interpret it that God put this in place but it is equally or perhaps more probable that it shows religious experience is literally all in our mind. It may indicate religion had an adaptive function in our evolution or just be a byproduct of something else. Like epilepsy or other conditions in the brain. Not to be disrespectful, its all conjecture. They have also gotten test subjects to experience near death experiences although the subjects were definitely not dying. So it looks possible that these are "normal" chemically induced states that people experience. How we interpret them is also deeply influenced by cultural programing and what we are predisposed to believe. Its all very interesting.

Answer 4

I am atheist, but Buddhist as well, so I do not discount the idea of "neuro-theology" at all. There have indeed been many studies that indicate prayer/meditation do work to alleviate illnesses. As a Buddhist, I follow the Buddha's advice, to not believe anything unless it agrees with my own good reason and common sense, even if the statement came from the Buddha himself.

Answer 5

Nope. I was already aware that the brain is powerful enough to trick you into thinking you're experiencing something. I deny nothing that can be objectively proved through the scientific method, as long as it can ideed be reproduced. The study is conclusive, but the explanation of the phenomenon is not yet understood.

And I was already aware that the feeling the theists described was the same as what I experienced in meditation. They were never able to explain to me how I could achieve the same phenomenon and NOT believe in gods.

Answer 6

To think something it must occur in the brain. So why wouldn't they find a place "light" up when nuns ect are praying. It happens in the mind. They also found that it overlaps the sexual arousal area. Might explain why religious people are so weirded out by sex.

Answer 7

The interesting thing about the neurological data is that it can only point to where the religious or mystical experiences happen in the brain. They cannot confirm or deny the reality of the source of those experiences.

Answer 8

To discount the existence of God without proof of His non-existence is unscientific. Hmmm. But it is equally unscientific to discount the existence of Santa for the same reason! I'm confused now. I wish it was my question so that I could award ten points to someone who could tell me why belief in Santa is more rational than belief in God. Help!!!! I am having a crisis of faith!

Answer 9

Science will likely never be able to answer questions about God, as science studies the phenomenal, physical universe, not the spiritual realm. Why do folks think science can know everything there is to know? Why does this keep being an issue?

Answer 10

I don't discount them. Do you discount the studies done by Xian scientists that have yet to show that prayer actually works?

This doesn't prove a god (that most of you claim is in the heart).