Thread: Belief in Religion Stunts the logic part of your brain?

Perhaps you'll find it if you try to remember and search for a few exact words that were in that article.

I've already tried searching yahoo and google, didn't find nothing

Even without reading it, I'm 100% sure it's complete bull*****. Seriously, you need to have a stunted logic part to think of something like that.

Originally Posted by mysterious dreamer

Even without reading it, I'm 100% sure it's complete bull*****. Seriously, you need to have a stunted logic part to think of something like that.

No, its not, it was a real study.

They monitored the brains of people who believed in religion, and who didn't, and found out the logic parts of the brains in people who believed in religion didn't work as well.

I want to find more info on this, thats why i made this thread.

The common understanding of the brain is, that it is seperated into
the right and left hemisphere. The left one is thinking in language and
in terms of what seems logical to you at that point (I am), the right one is
the 'feeling/being' side - so philosophy, art and religion would be categorized
under it. By increasingly practicing and focussing on one area you can
improve it, as if you don't use certain areas, the functioning will decrease.

But... a while ago one of my professors talked a little bit about new
findings in neurology and said, that the old 'left and right hemisphere'
theory is wrong - i know too little about that, to say anything further.
I asked him about it and he recommended me a book by Wolf Singer,
which I doubt will help anyone, since he's german. But I didn't have the
time to read it yet, but I definately will, soon!

The public opinion is still this left/right thing, so yeah.. i don't know.

I seem to remember hearing about something like this somewhere.

Well I found something that is relevant to this thread. It isn't what you are speaking of, but it's something.

There is nothing more mind expanding than questioning reality, and religion has a way of putting a lid on that tendency.

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

There is nothing more mind expanding than questioning reality, and religion has a way of putting a lid on that tendency.

Religion actually sparked much of the questioning of reality.

"Hrm, this book says the world is flat... Let's see if that's true!"

It's the acceptance from the masses can put the lid on questioning.

Originally Posted by invader_tech

Religion actually sparked much of the questioning of reality.

"Hrm, this book says the world is flat... Let's see if that's true!"

It's the acceptance from the masses can put the lid on questioning.

The doubting of religion can spark a great deal of analytical thought, but truly being part of a religion means accepting its teachings.

Originally Posted by Universal Mind

The doubting of religion can spark a great deal of analytical thought, but truly being part of a religion means accepting its teachings.

That's correct.

I would think this applies to someone who had been taught to follow certain teachings from birth and never questions them.

However, if this person goes through doubt and begins to question his fundamental beliefs this cannot be said, regardless of the conclusion he logics out for himself in the end.

Tell this to Descartes. The founder of our current system of logic and reasoning, who developed his system trying to prove God.

Imo, discussing the existence or non-existence of God is a very good reasoning exercise on it's own.

How many of the 90% of believers do need reasoning about god's existance? I thought they knew it all. And probably most of them do.

Originally Posted by ChaybaChayba

Tell this to Descartes. The founder of our current system of logic and reasoning, who developed his system trying to prove God.

Imo, discussing the existence or non-existence of God is a very good reasoning exercise on it's own.

Yes it is. But starting with your conclusion and working backwards isn't good reasoning.