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Neuroscientists must not be afraid to study religion

Scientists interested in the brain have tended to avoid studying religion or spirituality for fear of being seen as unscientific. That needs to change.
  1. Patrick McNamara

    1. Patrick McNamara is a professor of psychology at National University, San Diego, California, and a professor of neurology at Boston University, Massachusetts, USA.

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  2. William Newsome

    1. William Newsome is a professor of neurobiology in the Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, California, USA.

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  3. Brie Linkenhoker

    1. Brie Linkenhoker is the founder and chief executive of Worldview Studio, Menlo Park, California, USA.

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  4. Jordan Grafman

    1. Jordan Grafman is a professor of rehabilitation medicine at Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, and director of brain-injury research at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, Illinois, USA.

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A group of Muslims are performing the Eid al-Adha prayer at a mosque in Medan, Al Mashun, in North Sumatra, Indonesia.

Despite most people around the globe identifying as religious, religiosity and spirituality are understudied. Credit: Sutanta Aditya/NurPhoto via Getty

Around 85% of the global population identifies as religious. Decades of work in the social sciences have found that religious or spiritual beliefs and practices can improve people’s health and well-being; increase social cohesion, empathy and altruistic behaviour; and protect people against cognitive decline or substance abuse1. But also, throughout history, religion and spirituality have amplified conflict, polarization and oppression2–4.

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Nature 631, 25-27 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02153-7

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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