Science & Health Benefits of Belief in God & Religion | Dr. David DeSteno
Dr. David DeSteno, a Northeastern University psychology professor, explores the compatibility of science and religion, presenting data that religious practices, prayer, and gratitude offer significant mental and physical health benefits. He discusses how rituals foster compassion, reduce stress, and combat loneliness, highlighting their role in human flourishing.
Deep Dive Analysis
17 Topic Outline
Science, Religion, and the Question of God's Existence
Rationality of Belief: Pascal's Wager and Health Benefits
Russell's Teapot, Overbelief, and Religio-prospecting
Meditation, Compassion, and Physiological Effects of Prayer
Mourning Rituals: Shiva and the Psychology of Grief
Separating God from Religion; Synergistic Effects of Practice
Psychedelics, Ego Death, and Right vs. Left-Handed Roots
Human Morality, Cheating, and the Role of Gratitude
Loneliness, Community, and Relationship with God
Intelligent Design, Evolution, and the Emotion of Awe
Fear of Death, Afterlife, and Contemplating Mortality
Time Perception, Connectedness, and Traditional Practices
Addiction, 12-Step Programs, and Surrendering to a Higher Power
Emergence of New Religions, Burning Man, and Cults
Cults vs. Religions; AI, Technology, and Religious Branding
Flawed Religious Figures and Direct Experience of God
Finding a Belief System: Sampling and Embracing Practices
5 Key Concepts
Overbelief
An overbelief is a belief for which empirical evidence is lacking, but it feels right and leads to positive outcomes. According to William James, if these two criteria are met, it is rational to embrace such a belief, often applied to religious faith.
Religio-prospecting
This concept suggests that just as bioprospecting involves seeking useful compounds from traditional cultures, we should 'religio-prospect' by studying traditional religious practices with scientific rigor. The goal is to identify which practices genuinely contribute to human health and well-being.
Motor Synchrony
Motor synchrony refers to moving one's body in unison with others, such as singing, praying, or dancing together. Research shows this action increases feelings of connection, empathy, and compassion towards others, acting as an ancient cue to the mind that individuals are joined.
Liminal Space
A liminal space is an environment where normal life rules, identities, and expectations are stripped away. Examples like Burning Man can create such spaces, leading some individuals to profound spiritual experiences due to altered perceptions and increased reliance on community.
Spiritual Technologies
Religious practices can be viewed as sophisticated 'spiritual technologies' or mind-body practices capable of moving hearts and minds. They can be used for good or ill, depending on the motives of those employing them, similar to how scientific discoveries can be applied constructively or destructively.
11 Questions Answered
No, science cannot prove or disprove God's existence because it's impossible to design an experiment to manipulate God, which is a requirement for scientific inquiry to infer causality.
Yes, epidemiological data show that engaging with religious faith (not just belief) is associated with a 30% reduction in all-cause mortality, a 25% reduction in cancer and cardiovascular disease deaths, and decreased anxiety and depression, along with increased meaning and flourishing.
While social connection from any community is beneficial, the effect size for health and happiness is larger for religious communities. This suggests that the specific practices within religious communities contribute additional benefits beyond mere social interaction.
Meditation practices can significantly increase compassion and reduce aggression. Studies show that meditation can triple the rate at which people help someone in pain and lead individuals to refuse to cause pain to those who have provoked them.
Formal prayers often reduce respiration rate and increase exhalation duration, which enhances vagal tone and lowers heart rate. This physiological response signals safety to the brain, reducing cortisol and stress even when contemplating distressing thoughts.
People's moral behavior is highly variable, and because most individuals prefer to see themselves as good, when they act wrongly, they often feel 'something came over them.' This feeling makes it easy to attribute the wrongdoing to an external evil force rather than internal factors.
Yes, cultivating gratitude, even through simple practices like counting blessings, significantly reduces cheating and increases willingness to help others. Gratitude nudges the brain from the bottom up to be more honest, patient, generous, and helpful.
People who engage with religion report much less loneliness, likely due to both engagement in religious community and the belief in a relationship with God. This provides a sense of having a constant '3 AM friend' who is always there and has your back.
Contemplating death, when done not morbidly but as a reminder of life's ephemerality, can reorient values towards things that truly bring happiness, such as time with loved ones and service to others. This can lead to greater happiness at any age, not just in old age.
Surrendering to a higher power in 12-step programs is useful for overcoming addiction because it reduces stress and anxiety. It fosters a sense of partnership, where individuals do their best but trust that a higher power will help, alleviating the burden of feeling solely responsible for control.
Cults typically center around a charismatic leader who demands worship and often believes themselves to be special, leading to problematic outcomes like exploitation or mass suicide. Established religions, while having their own flaws and potential for misuse, generally focus on broader principles and practices rather than the worship of a single, living individual.
14 Actionable Insights
1. Engage in Regular Meditation
Practice meditation consistently to boost compassion, reduce anger, improve executive control, lower blood pressure, and alleviate suffering.
2. Practice Formal Prayer
Recite formal, formulaic prayers to physiologically reduce stress by lowering respiration rate, increasing exhalation duration, boosting vagal tone, and decreasing cortisol, fostering a sense of safety.
3. Cultivate Daily Gratitude
Make a habit of counting your blessings or expressing gratitude daily, as this practice promotes prosocial behaviors like honesty, patience, generosity, and helpfulness.
4. Join a Religious Community
Actively participate in a religious community to engage in shared practices like singing, praying, and moving in unison, which strengthens social bonds, increases empathy, and provides health benefits beyond general community involvement.
5. Contemplate Death Mindfully
Regularly and briefly contemplate your own mortality, not morbidly, to reorient your values towards relationships, service, and legacy, which are key drivers of happiness at any age.
6. Foster a Relationship with God
Cultivate a personal belief in and relationship with God to reduce feelings of loneliness, providing a constant sense of support and companionship.
7. Surrender to a Higher Power
When facing overwhelming challenges or addiction, practice surrendering control to a higher power; this involves doing your best, then trusting for help, which significantly reduces stress and anxiety.
8. Reduce Self-Focus in Grief
During periods of intense sadness or grief, consciously reduce self-focus (e.g., by avoiding excessive grooming or elaborate clothing) and cover mirrors, as these actions can help mitigate the intensity of negative emotions and aid in healthy bereavement.
9. Consolidate Positive Grief Memories
When grieving, make an effort to consolidate positive memories of the deceased, as this practice is a significant predictor of moving through grief successfully.
10. Embrace “Do, Then Understand”
Adopt the principle of “naish v’nishma” (we will do, and then we will understand) by engaging in spiritual or beneficial practices first, even without full logical comprehension, as understanding and benefits often emerge through the act of doing.
11. Explore Diverse Spiritual Paths
Be open to exploring different religious or spiritual practices and traditions to discover what genuinely resonates with you and improves your life, as it’s acceptable to sample and question.
12. Ensure Safe Psychedelic Use
If considering psychedelics, prioritize a supremely safe environment and, ideally, the presence of a guide or therapeutic support to navigate the experience and prevent potentially negative outcomes.
13. Combine Belief with Practice
Integrate creedal or belief elements with physical and communal practices, as this synergistic approach can lead to a greater magnitude of positive effects compared to practices alone.
14. Avoid Excessive Distractions
Be aware of and limit behaviors that serve as mere distractions (e.g., endless scrolling, mindless eating) to avoid addictive patterns and to confront underlying feelings of loneliness or existential fears.
6 Key Quotes
Any scientist who tells you they know for sure God doesn't exist, you shouldn't listen to. The reason I say that is oftentimes we, you and I, as scientists, live by the data. We run experiments. And what's behind any experiment is we try to manipulate a variable and we see if it produces a change. When you're talking about God, you can't do an experiment.
Dr. David DeSteno
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Dr. David DeSteno
I teach one thing and one thing only, which is the end of suffering. And meditation was a tool that the Buddha believed would help people do this.
Dr. David DeSteno (quoting the Buddha)
The thing I'd like to say is when you look at religious practices, a way to think about them is as spiritual technologies. Right? They're technologies, mind-body practices, that can move hearts and minds. They can move them for good. They can move them for ill. It depends upon the motives of the people who are using them.
Dr. David DeSteno
I'm not saying religion is good, it's a technology that can be used for evil. You know, I mean, even Richard Dawkins will say the same thing about science, right? You want to find a way to cure people of maladies? Science is your friend. You want to find the best way to annihilate a bunch of people most efficiently? Science is your friend.
Dr. David DeSteno
But more than that, if you're counting the number of times it says who to be good to, it says be good to the stranger, be good to the stranger in your land. And so it's expanding that moral circle.
Dr. David DeSteno
3 Protocols
Mourning Ritual (Shiva)
Dr. David DeSteno (describing Jewish tradition)- Cover mirrors in the home to reduce intensification of sad emotions.
- Reduce self-focus by not shaving or wearing best clothes.
- Community members visit the home for seven days.
- Say prayers together in a minyan (minimum of 10 people), often swaying in unison, to foster connection and compassion.
Contemplating Death for Value Reorientation
Dr. David DeSteno (based on psychological research and religious traditions)- Engage in short, non-morbid contemplation of one's own death daily.
- Reflect on the ephemeral nature of life.
- Use this contemplation to reorient values towards things that truly bring happiness, such as time with loved ones and service to others.
Sampling Religions for Personal Belief System
Dr. David DeSteno- Try on different religious practices and traditions.
- Observe what resonates personally.
- Engage in the 'doing' of practices, as understanding and benefit often come through experience rather than logic alone.