Irenaeus, Siteadmin, Check users, oversight, Administrators
351,865
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 12:
Line 12: + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Atheism and cowardice (view source)
Revision as of 19:14, October 28, 2015
, 19:14, October 28, 2015→Richard Dawkins
For more information, please see: [[Rebuttals to atheist arguments]]
For more information, please see: [[Rebuttals to atheist arguments]]
== Brain study: Religious belief vs. non-belief - Anxiety/stress reduction ==
''See also:'' [[Atheism and brain function]]
According to the leading science news website Phys.org:
{{cquote|Believing in God can help block anxiety and minimize stress, according to new University of Toronto research that shows distinct brain differences between believers and non-believers.
In two studies led by Assistant Psychology Professor Michael Inzlicht, participants performed a Stroop task - a well-known test of cognitive control - while hooked up to electrodes that measured their brain activity.
Compared to non-believers, the religious participants showed significantly less activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a portion of the brain that helps modify behavior by signaling when attention and control are needed, usually as a result of some anxiety-producing event like making a mistake. The stronger their religious zeal and the more they believed in God, the less their ACC fired in response to their own errors, and the fewer errors they made...
Their findings show religious belief has a calming effect on its devotees, which makes them less likely to feel anxious about making errors or facing the unknown.<ref>[http://phys.org/news/2009-03-brain-differences-believers-non-believers.html Researchers find brain differences between believers and non-believers], Phys.org, March 4, 2009</ref>}}
== Richard Dawkins ==
== Richard Dawkins ==