Study Claims Brain Damage Can Make People More Religious
A recent study conducted by Northwestern University in Illinois found that people who suffer from brain injuries are more likely to become religious fundamentalists. Scientists arrived at the conclusion by studying lesions linked to spiritual belief and extremism.
Neurologists identified the ventromedial prefrontal cortex located in the brain's frontal lobe as the "God spot," a critical hub that processes belief systems and religious experiences. The study found that trauma to this part of the brain made people less open to ideas.
To arrive at these results, researchers examined 119 combat veterans who had suffered brain injuries during the Vietnam War as well as 30 others whose brains were fully intact and functioning properly. They were asked to respond to certain statements such as "To lead the best, most meaningful life, one must belong to the one, true religion."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
They found that veterans who had experienced injuries in the prefrontal cortex region of the brain are less able to critically evaluate their religious beliefs against those of other people. As such, they experience higher levels of religious fundamentalism than those whose brains were not damaged.
Dr. Jordan Grafman, the study's corresponding author conceded that their research is limited and that there are other factors, both physiological and psychological, that need to be considered as well. "We need to understand how distinct religious beliefs are from moral, legal, political, and economic beliefs in their representations in the brain," he told PsyPost.
The aforementioned research is not the first of such kind as University of Missouri scientists also studied the correlation between brain activity with spiritual experience. However, the 2008 study was centered in the right parietal lobe which is associated with visual-spatial perception.
Research co-author Brick Johnstone explained that decreased activity in the right parietal lobe is associated with feelings of oneness with the universe. "People with injuries to the right parietal lobe of the brain reported higher levels of spiritual experiences, such as transcendence," he said.
