The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience

This book by two medical researchers examines how the brain enables mystical and religious experiences. It explains basic brain structures relevant to emotion and cognition, then maps how these regions are involved in phenomena such as mystical states, mythmaking, ritual, meditation, near-death experiences, and theology. The authors argue that religious and spiritual experiences have a neurological basis and discuss implications for philosophy, science, and the future of religion. The work synthesizes findings from neuroscience and comparative religion to propose an evolutionary function for religious behavior, grounding patterns in comparative religions in brain activity.

Study at a glance

Abstract

How does the mind experience the sacred? What biological mechanisms are involved in mystical states and trances? Is there a neurological basis for patterns in comparative religions? Does religion have an evolutionary function? This pathbreaking work by two leading medical researchers explores the neurophysiology of religious experience. Building on an explanation of the basic structure of the brain, the authors focus on parts most relevant to human experience, emotion, and cognition. On this basis, they plot how the brain is involved in mystical experiences. Successive chapters apply this scheme to mythmaking, ritual and liturgy, meditation, near-death experiences, and theology itself. Anchored in such research, the authors also sketch the implications of their work for philosophy, science, theology, and the future of religion.