Religious Conviction: Effects on the Human Brain

The US has approximately 306 million people as of February 2009. Organized religion plays a role in the lives of the majority of these people. As of the last large study in 2001, 81% of American adults identify themselves with a religion: approximately 76.5% of people identify as Christian, 1.3% of people identify as Jewish, 0.5% of people identify as Muslim, 0.5% of people identify as Buddhist and 0.4% of people identify as Hindu. Although 15% of the population identify as having no religious affiliation, this is much lower than other developed nations such as the UK where 44% of people identify as having no religious affiliation and Sweden where 69% of people identify as having no religious affiliation (ARIS study, 2008). Religion is therefore an intrinsic part of being American, and understanding the effects of religion on the American brain is important. In lieu of this, in a recent study in Psychological Science, researchers examined where religious and non-religious people differed in their brain-wave (EEG) patterns during a task requiring high levels of attention. They measured the reactivity of the part of the brain instrumental in monitoring for errors (the conflict detector called the anterior cingulate cortex or ACC) and levels of anxiety. In this column, I present these findings with some conjecture about what this could possibly mean.

The study conducted by Inzlicht and colleagues (2009) found that stronger religious zeal and greater belief in God was associated with decreased reactivity of the brain's error detection center (ACC) and fewer wrong answers. Since the ACC is also implicated in anxiety and self-regulation, the authors concluded that having a strong religious belief acts as a buffer against anxiety and minimizes the experience of error by decreasing ACC activation, thereby reducing the reaction to error. What are the implications of these findings? Here are some of my thoughts:

1. Religion protects against anxiety during the performance of thinking tasks. This is consistent with evolutionary theories that state that religion evolved as a result of human "need". It is possible that this need was anxiety reduction.

2. The finding of decreased ACC activation is confusing. While it implies less reactivity to error, does this mean that if we are religious we are less likely to pick up errors? While this may be so, it is also curious that religious people make fewer errors possibly because they are not distracted by the brain firing every time an error is made. As a preliminary thought this would suggest that having a strong religious conviction may obscure awareness of our own errors. Is this the reason that religious wars continue for so long? Is it possible that regardless of the specific religious belief, having a strong belief makes both sides less aware of mistakes they are making?

3. The implication of having less anxiety is also intriguing as it may explain why we hold onto our religious beliefs. It may also explain why wars based on strong religious conviction may continue for so long - they may have an anxiety reducing effect that people become addicted to.

4. Since these findings are fairly non-specific (depression and alcohol may all decrease ACC activation), it is possible that it is not religious conviction per se but "conviction" or "addiction" that steadies the ACC. This would make sense as a greater sense of commitment to an idea often "holds attention" and decreases distraction and therefore anxiety.

5. One of the questions that arises is: why do Americans have a greater need to be religious than people in the UK or Sweden? Do we want to be less anxious? Do we want to recognize our errors less? Do we want to make fewer errors? What are the implications of the fact that the numbers of religious Americans has dropped in recent times?

6. One of the implications of reacting less to one's own mistakes may be to allow for greater self- and other forgiveness. Cause and effect are confusing here. Are we a guilty nation in need of forgiveness or a forgiving nation that encourages exploration and discovery? That religion creates reduced awareness of error in one's self seems clear. What does this mean in terms of recognizing other people's errors?

7. When our beliefs are invested in something greater than ourselves, they protect us from anxiety because our attention is not on what is going on inside of us. Lower ACC activation may reflect attention directed elsewhere.

Clearly, my conjectures here are just thoughts emanating from contemplation of the data and not scientific facts. Yet, it is my hope that as we grow in our understanding of how religion impacts the brain, we will also grow in our understanding of how it protects us from anxiety. Why would anyone give up his or her religious beliefs if giving them up meant becoming more anxious? I think that we need to integrate this interaction between religion, error awareness and anxiety more if we are to grow from an understanding of our own mistakes. Certainly, in terms of how well we do on these tasks of attention, it appears to be good not to be distracted by our errors but concerning that we may feel we are right when in fact we are wrong. If we grow in our religious convictions, this is something to consider more closely.

Follow Srinivasan Pillay on Twitter: www.twitter.com/srinipillay

Comments

[JohnFromCensornati]

So, religion creates cognitive dissonance and dulls the anxiety that comes from the cognitive dissonance?

[Srinivasan Pillay - Huffpost Blogger]

i am not sure of deep religious conviction is cognitive at all. people appear to be able to process the feeling of religion cognitively, but the actual conviction seems to be held at a different level-something more visceral and outside the complete reach of cognition...one of the reasons that it creates cognitive dissonance may be just this-that it is not compatible with thought at its core and that it relates to another kind of intelligence or mental faculty. there is an interesting review in the scientific literature that argues that one of the reasons that we cannot locate a personal god is that god is everywhere and as a result we unaware of the existence of god due to neuronal habituation.

[kwinter]

"the scientific literature" doesn't sound very scientific. Who wrote this "interesting review" in "the scientific literature", and did he/she define what this "god" is? And what was the scientific bases for this assertion?

[mergina]

Religion is the mind destroyer, the thought inhibitor, the hate creator, the ongoing abomination mankind subjects itself too, because my god is better than your god SO TAKE THIS.....BAM! To be religionless is to be free and in touch with all around you. One cannot be part of a group and ever expect to experience that.

[grooveygrover]

wow, and I thought it was tv

[HeevenSteven]

Science confirms a long known truth--the more religious are less capable of B.S. detection.

[TryToBeFlexible]

Yes indeed, religion is an addiction. It makes you feel less anxious, because you no longer have to think about issues, just believe what the man up front taking donations tells you to believe.

I would never want to believe something just because it makes me feel good. I really would rather be a bit more mentally advanced, and think, and believe what the evidence shows to be true. This is definitely a harder course to take, because life brings you more information all the time, and sometimes you need to adjust your current beliefs, which is definitely more work than just believing a child's fairy tale.

[Henry]

" why do Americans have a greater need to be religious than people in the UK or Sweden? "

My great grandparents emigrated from Scandinavia 1860s or so to homestead in Iowa. Church and religion were very important to them as identity (Lutheran) and also as security in a new land that was beset with prarie fires, Indians, grasshoppers, and bitter cold. When you look at the progeny of this group you see a devout respect for community which had a center of Church. That is America. Then you look at Sweden that is more of a social state(with one strain of people) that even provided funding for the church, in a sense supplanting the local security and spritual ease provided by comparison in America only by the church. I am one of these Lutherans with respect for the cultural belief and what the church represents to this strain of people. However I do not believe there is a God.

[Srinivasan Pillay - Huffpost Blogger]

thank you for sharing your respect despite your not believing that there is a god i think that very often atheism takes on a group effect all on its own and begins to generate the hatred that religion can generate as well. your support despite not believing in god is encouraging. i noted how it is interesting that 81% of americans identify themselves with a religion yet there is not s single religious person who has posted a comment on this article. i think that when atheism and religiosity find common grounds for communication based on mutual respect, love and the ability to disagree that we would solved yet another dilemma surrounding how hatred is generated in the world.

[Matthew Johnstone]

My experience on HuffPost has been that while I agree with much of what gets said, the thinking on religion tends to be pretty univocal (cf. religion is the thought-destroyer). Articles on HuffPost concerning religion generally get me so worked up that I stopped reading them. I was pleased to stumble on yours, largely because it seems to be pretty genuinely curious. So - here's your token Christian - I think the research was interesting, and your conjectures just that - conjectural. I liked your point about a non-cognitive level to religious experience, as that has been precisely the context of my faith as a modern, American, liberal, progressive Christian. My logic leads me to my politics, and something else leads me to faith. I also really enjoyed the point about neoronal habituation. For those inclined to cavil, I ask - do you think there is any room for anything nonlogical in a perfect society? If not, why not? If so, why include some and disinclude others?

[progressivegreg]

I agree with Elmer, I was raised Roman Catholic (schools with nuns and the whole shebang through 5th grade) church every morning, communion every first Friday (the old days no food after midnight), writing Hail Mary's or Apostles creed 5-10 times if late for church! Frankly it was child abuse, but at the time I did not know it! Beaten by nuns, hell preached constantly. I was in my 30's when I realised it was all a joke. A very dark and evil joke! I still have some remnants of it in my psyche, but I'm working it out as it surfaces. Now an ateist and never happier. Good for Sweeden, they get it. Religion=War!!

[HeevenSteven]

Those of us who were left handed really got hell from the nuns...lol..

[progressivegreg]

I'd forgotten that, I was right handed, but a bit of a "free thinker" took my hits, had a friend who would laugh when he got nervous, so when the nun started hitting him, he started laughing, she got more and more angry and was literally pounding him on the back with her fists and he was just laughing and laughing. That was in the 5th grade, I'm 62 now and still can see that picture.

[elmerfude]

I don't buy it. After being "religious" for over 60 years, one day I had a horrible panic attack in church. Later I realized that it had been building up for years. This theophobic reaction was so intense that I stay completely away from churches or anything religious as best I can. For me it is like avoiding cigarette smoke. Whatever is coming out of those churches is killing us and I don't care what your research says. I have much less anxiety the further I stay away from religion, but it isn't easy what with a church on every corner, people wearing crucifixes, religious message boards on the highways and politicians reading their Bibles in the state house.

[JohnFromCensornati]

What coming out is worse than cigarette smoke. It's radioactive.