Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion

Front Cover
Routledge, Apr 15, 2016 - Religion - 176 pages
In the 1990s great strides were taken in clarifying how the brain is involved in behaviors that, in the past, had seldom been studied by neuroscientists or psychologists. This book explores the progress begun during that momentous decade in understanding why we behave, think and feel the way we do, especially in those areas that interface with religion. What is happening in the brain when we have a religious experience? Is the soul a product of the mind which is, in turn, a product of the brain? If so, what are the implications for the Christian belief in an afterlife? If God created humans for the purpose of having a relationship with him, should we expect to find that our spirituality is a biologically evolved human trait? What effect might a disease such as Alzheimer's have on a person's spirituality and relationship with God? Neuroscience and psychology are providing information relevant to each of these questions, and many Christians are worried that their religious beliefs are being threatened by this research. Kevin Seybold attempts to put their concerns to rest by presenting some of the scientific findings coming from these disciplines in a way that is understandable yet non-threatening to Christian belief.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
1 Neuroscience
3
2 Psychology
21
3 Religion
33
4 Philosophy of Science
53
5 Integration Issues
61
6 Brain and Religion
75
7 The Self
87
8 Evolutionary Psychology
107
9 ReligionSpirituality and Health
125
10 The Future?
137
Bibliography
145
Index
159
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About the author (2016)

Kevin S. Seybold is Professor of Psychology at Grove City College, Pennsylvania, USA.

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