As anyone who reads P&S forum will likely agree from my posts “ I think about god, faith, religion etc a lot. Not to come to a conclusion, or to recruit, judge, sway, or influence but to celebrate humanities diverseness in reasoning and understanding.
In my opinion there is no right or wrong belief system, however, there is a difference in the way believers and nonbelievers brains are hardwired. According to psychology today, religious believers are more likely to use intuitive and heuristic reasoning while nonbelievers are likely to use deliberative and analytical reasoning.
Nonbelievers are likely to process sensory information from they see in a deliberate manner, this is called top-down processing that involves reasoning. In contrast, religious believers are likely to interpret visual information more emotionally than intuitively, this is called Bottom-up processing, which involves ancient brain systems. Religious believers share bottom-up bias with people who believe in supernatural or paranormal activity, including telekinesis, or clairvoyance. Recent evidence suggests that religious fundamentalists have a network of brain regions located in the right hemisphere that may be damaged by injury or simply inherited.
Paranormal believers thinking is frequently biased by intuitive beliefs. An analysis of brain states showed that paranormal belief is related to the reduced power of alpha, beta and gamma frequency bands, indicative of a reduced level of inhibitory control and critical analysis of incoming sensory information. paradoxically, the number people who express interests in religion is decreasing, however, belief in the paranormal is becoming increasingly popular.
Is the human brain evolving away from one form of fantasy beliefs while embracing another? Anthropologists estimate that at least 18,000 different gods, goddesses, and various animals or objects have been worshipped by humans since our species first appeared. Evolution has clearly selected for a brain that has the ability to accept a logically absurd world of supernatural causes and beings.
www.psychologytoday.com
A final word: If as humans we respected our differences and unique qualities as a source for growth and learning as a society rather than judging and excluding people unlike ourselves, we as a society may become more than what we are.
In my opinion there is no right or wrong belief system, however, there is a difference in the way believers and nonbelievers brains are hardwired. According to psychology today, religious believers are more likely to use intuitive and heuristic reasoning while nonbelievers are likely to use deliberative and analytical reasoning.
Nonbelievers are likely to process sensory information from they see in a deliberate manner, this is called top-down processing that involves reasoning. In contrast, religious believers are likely to interpret visual information more emotionally than intuitively, this is called Bottom-up processing, which involves ancient brain systems. Religious believers share bottom-up bias with people who believe in supernatural or paranormal activity, including telekinesis, or clairvoyance. Recent evidence suggests that religious fundamentalists have a network of brain regions located in the right hemisphere that may be damaged by injury or simply inherited.
Paranormal believers thinking is frequently biased by intuitive beliefs. An analysis of brain states showed that paranormal belief is related to the reduced power of alpha, beta and gamma frequency bands, indicative of a reduced level of inhibitory control and critical analysis of incoming sensory information. paradoxically, the number people who express interests in religion is decreasing, however, belief in the paranormal is becoming increasingly popular.
Is the human brain evolving away from one form of fantasy beliefs while embracing another? Anthropologists estimate that at least 18,000 different gods, goddesses, and various animals or objects have been worshipped by humans since our species first appeared. Evolution has clearly selected for a brain that has the ability to accept a logically absurd world of supernatural causes and beings.
Brains of Believers and Nonbelievers Are Wired Differently
Not believing in gods or ghosts is more than just being skeptical; it's due to discrete, stable, higher-level brain activity patterns.
A final word: If as humans we respected our differences and unique qualities as a source for growth and learning as a society rather than judging and excluding people unlike ourselves, we as a society may become more than what we are.
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