AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion

News & Events: Public Lecture

Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief
27 February 2002

 

This seminar will discuss investigations of brain function through neuroimaging, specifically studies of the brain processes of meditating Buddhists and Franciscan nuns at prayer. The chain of neurological events that is triggered by focused religious contemplation will be described. These data offer intriguing insights into the human capacity for religious experience. Do they also imply that religious experience more generally is simply an expression of the biology of our brains? The significance of and limitations of such empirical neurological findings for traditional religious understandings of mystical experience will be discussed.

Keynote speaker:

• Dr. Andrew Newberg, Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania Hospital

Respondent:

• Dr. Ilia Delio, Assistant Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Washington Theological Union

Coverage:

Listen to introductory remarks
Listen to Dr. Illia Delio
Listen to Dr. Andrew Newberg

Read the Summary