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posted by martyb on Thursday November 09 2017, @06:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the "number-of-the-beast"-is-natural,-whole,-rational,-real,-AND-imaginary dept.

Religious beliefs are not linked to intuition or rational thinking, according to new research by the universities of Coventry and Oxford. Previous studies have suggested people who hold strong religious beliefs are more intuitive and less analytical, and when they think more analytically their religious beliefs decrease.

But new research, by academics from Coventry University's Centre for Advances in Behavioural Science and neuroscientists and philosophers at Oxford University, suggests that is not the case, and that people are not 'born believers'. The study -- which included tests on pilgrims taking part in the famous Camino de Santiago and a brain stimulation experiment -- found no link between intuitive/analytical thinking, or cognitive inhibition (an ability to suppress unwanted thoughts and actions), and supernatural beliefs.

Instead, the academics conclude that other factors, such as upbringing and socio-cultural processes, are more likely to play a greater role in religious beliefs.

[Abstract]: Supernatural Belief Is Not Modulated by Intuitive Thinking Style or Cognitive Inhibition

Would you agree with this conclusion or do you believe that there is something else that influences people's religious beliefs ?


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  • (Score: 2) by Arik on Thursday November 09 2017, @10:50PM (2 children)

    by Arik (4543) on Thursday November 09 2017, @10:50PM (#594899) Journal
    You're clearly thinking about this more clearly and more deeply than most, but let me suggest a slight adjustment.

    Religion, proper religion, is the pursuit of what you call spirituality, and the attempt to preserve and understand the records of those that went before in that pursuit. It's how we at least approach understanding things that we cannot properly understand.

    Yes, it's attracted a great deal of fraud and con artists over the years, to the point that it can be very tempting to write the entire thing off to them, but then again the same is true of spirituality, and for that matter even of science. Con artists and fraud, I'm afraid, are embedded in our race itself, not just one area of endeavor.

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  • (Score: 2) by leftover on Friday November 10 2017, @01:28AM (1 child)

    by leftover (2448) on Friday November 10 2017, @01:28AM (#594968)

    If there ever exists a "proper religion" in those terms, it would still be guilty of supporting delusions. In actual religions, the fraud and con games are the very core of the organizations, not some outlying stragglers.

    IMHO, the only good person leading a religion (of sorts) is the current Dalai Lama. He has defined his religion with two facts: the only place it exists is inside your head, and the only thing you need to remember is to be kind.

    He invited the current Pope to adopt the same view but his offer was summarily declined.

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    • (Score: 2) by Arik on Friday November 10 2017, @04:19AM

      by Arik (4543) on Friday November 10 2017, @04:19AM (#595027) Journal
      "IMHO, the only good person leading a religion (of sorts) is the current Dalai Lama."

      I also am rather a fan of his.

      He's also repeatedly said that Christians, Muslims, and Jews should generally NOT convert, as the same universal truths he teaches are also to be found in their own religion, where it's more accessible.

      One example: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/educate-but-dont-convert-dalai-lama/article5542187.ece
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