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OfflineLucisM
Nutritional Yeast

Registered: 03/28/15
Posts: 15,622
Last seen: 1 month, 28 days
This is fascinating
    #28391188 - 07/10/23 09:30 AM (6 months, 15 days ago)

I found this article very fascinating and thought some of you might as well. 

The reason I find this fascinating is that if certain spiritual or religious traits haven't been "evolved out" then why are they still here unless they serve a very important reason?

I like the part about altruism.

I also think that in the past if someone was going to travel to a new place to seek more food, land, mates, etc, someone might feel comforted by a belief in something greater than themselves which would motivate them to take a risk knowing that their "deity" was leading the way or on their side so they had less fear in a strange situation.

Even if one doesn't believe in a deity then the search for something greater than themselves would push them on. 

In loose terms, I see spirituality as the belief in something greater than oneself which once learned from creates positive changes within one's being and I see religion as a belief in a deity and more of a structured system. 

I think many people can be spiritual without a deity (think Buddhism), so I see spirituality as fluid and not so "set in stone" as some religions seem.  Forgive me if I am wrong.

Either a fluid spiritual practice or a more set-in-stone religious one can motivate someone to take more risks and search for new experiences.


Why Do Humans Keep Inventing Gods to Worship?
A recent study points to the role of a specific brain region.


Source

At least 18,000 different gods, goddesses and various animals or objects have been worshipped by humans.

Spirituality, or religiosity, has been mapped to a brain circuit that was centered on a brain region called the periaqueductal grey.

This brain circuit, and the apparent importance of the periaqueductal grey, may have evolved to encourage altruistic behaviors and reduce fear.

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. Today, it is estimated that more than 80 percent of the global population considers themselves religious or spiritual in some form.

The neural substrates of religiosity or spirituality are under investigation by neuroscientists. Evolution has clearly selected a brain that can accept a logically absurd world of supernatural causes and beings. Spirituality must offer something tangible that enhances procreation and survival. Otherwise, evolution should have selected against such costly beliefs and behaviors as making gigantic pyramids to house the dead, blowing oneself up for the pleasures of paradise, or sacrificing one's children as a measure of devotion to one’s deity.

Religious beliefs, spirituality, and the need to worship a deity of some kind are undoubtedly durable traits. Some gods were worshipped for very long periods and then virtually disappeared from the historical record. For example, the sun god Ra was worshipped by many different cultures for thousands of years and then completely disappeared. If historical precedent holds, many of the gods worshipped today will be forgotten and quickly replaced by others.

During the past few years, neuroscientists have developed an area of study called the neuroscience of religiosity to understand the neurobiology of this fascinating aspect of human behavior.

The neural substrates of religious belief are an intriguing though contentious topic. Neuroscientists are often reductionistic and would like to explain religiosity by brain wiring. After all, the tendency to religiosity or spirituality and brain-wiring patterns that underlie specific personality traits are considered inheritable.

Are the brains of spiritual people different from those of atheists or agnostics?
One recent study used a collection of recently developed non-invasive tools to examine the brain and answer this question. The study used electroencephalography, structural neuroimaging (magnetic resonance imaging, MRI), and functional neuroimaging (both fMRI and positron emission technology) to study people who practiced a wide range of religions (e.g., Christianity, Buddhism, Islam). They were scanned and monitored while in religious or spiritual states or behaviors (e.g., simply resting, prayer, etc.).

The study had some inherent problems due to the challenge of measuring religiosity. Unique activity in several brain regions was associated with a religious or spiritual state, including areas of the frontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and the default mode network. The findings suggest that the experience of being in a religious or spiritual state has specific neurobiological correlates and that these correlates are distinct from being in non-religious states.

A recent study attempted to map spirituality to a specific human brain circuit. The study discovered that self-reported spirituality or religiosity mapped to a brain circuit centered on a brain region called the periaqueductal grey. This is quite a fascinating discovery given that the periaqueductal grey is found in the brainstem, not the cortex, as might be expected from other studies.

The periaqueductal grey is an ancient structure that is believed to play a role in our response to fear, pain, and altruistic behavior. Damage to this brainstem circuit causes delusions, and alien limb syndrome also intersected this circuit. This brain circuit, and the apparent importance of the periaqueductal grey, may have evolved to encourage altruistic behaviors and reduce the fear of living in an unpredictable world.

References

Ferguson MA et al (2021) A neural circuit for spirituality and religiosity derived from patients with brain lesions. Biological Psychiatry 2021DOI

Rim J et al (2019) Current Understanding of Religion, Spirituality, and Their Neurobiological Correlates

HARVARD REVIEW OF PSYCHIATRY, Vol 27, P 303-316

Mehta SK et al (2019) Can Religiosity Be Explained by 'Brain Wiring'? An Analysis of US Adults' Opinions

RELIGIONS, Vol 10, Article Number: 586.


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OfflineSvetaketu
The Devil's Avocado 🥑
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Registered: 10/08/15
Posts: 1,508
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Last seen: 19 hours, 36 minutes
Re: This is fascinating [Re: Lucis]
    #28391266 - 07/10/23 11:42 AM (6 months, 15 days ago)

Interesting read.

Though I think their assumption that we should have evolved out of it is sort of flawed.

I think religiosity was once a great help to us, it was really our first attempt at science, to try to understand what was going on around us.

The classic example is that erring on the side of caution tends to work out.

Is there a tiger in that bush? Likely it was just the wind, but we assume tiger because it might save our life.

Is there a deity that you should be worshiping? I'd say probably not, but in the stone age it was wise to just go with it, just in case. Also your neighbor might kill you if you disagree.

I think that nowadays religiosity has become a hindrance to creating a global community that can agree on reality, but it doesn't hinder survival or procreation. It may in fact help in some cases.

What's more, even if it were harming procreation and survival 10 thousands years ago or in the modern day, evolution is slow; smallpox is fast. I don't think enough time has gone by for us to have evolved out of traits that may or may not have been helping us in the recent past.

Even if it would be better for humans to drop religiosity, that doesn't necessarily mean it will happen. Evolution cares about you surviving long enough to procreate, after that it really doesn't care about what happens to you.


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OfflineLucisM
Nutritional Yeast

Registered: 03/28/15
Posts: 15,622
Last seen: 1 month, 28 days
Re: This is fascinating [Re: Svetaketu] * 1
    #28391974 - 07/10/23 11:58 PM (6 months, 15 days ago)

Quote:

Svetaketu said:


Though I think their assumption that we should have evolved out of it is sort of flawed.







I read it as it's no wonder that we haven't evolved out of it yet since one of the cornerstones of modern society is religion/spirituality.

Much of what we understand about morality evolved out of our religious practices, we learned from the good (golden rule), and the bad stuff (think persecution of witches). 

I don't think religion/spirituality is bad, but rather humans put a negative spin on some things because humans seek to control many things they see which has influence over large groups of people.  They often take things or present things as "literal fact" rather than actually searching for a deeper meaning in something, many people use certain beliefs in a selfish manner rather than for the benefit of the group or whole.

The stories found in religious/spiritual practices often speak in metaphor and allegory, I think that's why they have lasted so long and are continuing to grow. 

I think we will evolve out of misusing the lessons, stories, tales, etc found within them as we learn more about the world and more people around the planet connect with others in different parts of the world via networking through the internet or travel.

I think the more we learn about each other the more we will realize there's nothing to fear in our differences and that most people are just trying to live in peace.


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OfflineRJ Tubs 202
Male


Registered: 09/20/08
Posts: 6,010
Loc: USA Flag
Last seen: 23 hours, 47 minutes
Re: This is fascinating [Re: Lucis]
    #28393388 - 07/12/23 10:36 AM (6 months, 13 days ago)

One aspect of communities rooted in religion is the strong passionate cohesive support of the family unit. 

Currently 80% of males 18-30 years say they are not interested in having a short term or long-term intimate relationship.  Many women value their employment focus (AKA "career") over having a family.  Now days, a lot people view a lack of having a family as "freedom."

In the US, since the 70's, the birth rate has declined by 50%

The times they are a changing.


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