Taking A Look At The Cognitive Science Of Religion

Growing up I always wondered why I went back and forth in my belief in God. The fact that God can’t really be proven was something I always had a hard time with. The thing is though; I could swear that I have experienced Him, so it was always hard to just deny it. Taking this course, the Cognitive Science of Religion really helped bring some understanding to my wavering mind. This course introduced the idea that there is a science behind our religious experiences. The cognitive science of religion brings cognitive science into the study of why religious thoughts and actions are so common and why phenomena in religions take on the characteristics they do (Barrett 2007). Through the concepts and ideas I will introduce later I believe that the

The cognitive science of religion really tackled the core of why people actually participate and spend so much of their time in these rituals. There are two levels of participation involved in rituals, the individual basis and group basis. In the "What is ritual? Traditional and Modern Theories of ritual" power point, it is mentioned that people participate in rituals to get a sense of belonging. Everyone has this innate desire from childhood to be loved, wanted and accepted. It is so natural for us as human beings to form cliques and have our circle of friends. In a religious context, I would imagine feeling this sense of acceptance not just on a social level but on a spiritual level as well which would deepen those feelings of belonging. When you feel like you finally belong and are accepted it gives you this automatic sense to want to be more involved and you would want to do whatever it takes to continue receiving that same feeling of being liked and wanted. The fact that these rituals require so much time and effort to be able to participate also gives a sense of being a part of a bigger whole. Because these rituals require the members of the church/the body to participate it gives off a sense of unity. When you feel united, there is a stronger sense of security and less chances of feeling like an outsider. When that sense of unity is established,

It brings so many new concepts, aspects and perspectives to the table that I personally have not heard before. CSR has questioned how and why our minds work the way they do when it comes to the processing of religious thought. When it comes to religion, trying to break down each aspect piece by piece is very difficult because there are so many factors that come into play. In this essay, I only listed four different aspects: the evolutionary, the brain, cognition and the idea of participation in rituals. Although this area of study is new, CSR has done a phenomenal job in breaking down the biological/physiological. It has contributed an immense amount of knowledge in terms of science. Having an understanding of the three pillars of CSR alone gives incredible insight. It helps us consider the evolutionary approach; the “God spot” helps us understand how people experience religion and how our cognitive biases can help explain the advance of religious ideas and