@article{1563155,
      recid = {1563155},
      author = {Newberg, Andrew B.,},
      title = {Neurotheology : how science can enlighten us about  spirituality /},
      pages = {1 online resource (321 pages)},
      abstract = {"With the advent of the modern cognitive neurosciences,  along with anthropological and historical research, the  scientific study of religious and spiritual phenomena has  become far more sophisticated and wide-ranging. It suggests  answers as to how and why religion became so prominent in  human societies and in human consciousness.  Neurotheology--a term coined by Aldous Huxley in 1962 in  his novel Island and introduced into the scientific  literature in the 1990s by Newberg and others--explores  some of the most controversial positions including the  argument that religion was a necessary condition of  cohesive societies, morality, and a sense of purpose. The  book considers brain development from an evolutionary  perspective and assesses how religious and spiritual  beliefs and experiences arose and whether such evolutionary  evidence eliminates the need for a religious explanation.  Newberg demonstrates that religious beliefs and emotions  can be both beneficial and detrimental in people's lives.  For some, religion provides a means toward compassion,  openness, and understanding; others turn to highly  destructive acts, as is the case with suicide bombers. What  is happening in the brains of such people? Are they  pathological? And what of practices such as meditation,  prayer, and the ingestion of psychoactive substances?  Neuroimaging studies can show how these practices affect  people in the moment and over a lifetime. Finally, the book  investigates the deeper implications of a neurotheological  approach. Does the neuroscientific study of religion negate  any or all of the truth claims of religion? How does  neurotheology address the "big questions" such as: What is  the meaning of life? Why are we here? And what is the true  nature of reality?"--},
      url = {http://library.usi.edu/record/1563155},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.7312/newb17904},
}