Can Religiosity Be Explained by ‘Brain Wiring’? An Analysis of US Adults’ Opinions

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dc.citation.articleNumber586en_US
dc.citation.issueNumber10en_US
dc.citation.journalTitleReligionsen_US
dc.citation.volumeNumber10en_US
dc.contributor.authorMehta, Sharan Kauren_US
dc.contributor.authorScheitle, Christopher P.en_US
dc.contributor.authorEcklund, Elaine Howarden_US
dc.date.accessioned2020-02-14T16:39:49Zen_US
dc.date.available2020-02-14T16:39:49Zen_US
dc.date.issued2019en_US
dc.description.abstractStudies examining how religion shapes individuals’ attitudes about science have focused heavily on a narrow range of topics, such as evolution. This study expands this literature by looking at how religion influences individuals’ attitudes towards the claim that neuroscience, or “brain wiring,” can explain differences in religiosity. Our analysis of nationally representative survey data shows, perhaps unsurprisingly, that religiosity is negatively associated with thinking that brain wiring can explain religion. Net of religiosity, though, individuals reporting religious experiences are actually more likely to agree that brain wiring can explain religiosity, as are individuals belonging to diverse religious traditions when compared to the unaffiliated. We also find that belief in the general explanatory power of science is a significant predictor of thinking that religiosity can be explained by brain wiring, while women and the more highly educated are less likely to think this is true. Taken together, these findings have implications for our understanding of the relationship between religion and science, and the extent to which neuroscientific explanations of religiosity are embraced by the general US public.en_US
dc.identifier.citationMehta, Sharan Kaur, Scheitle, Christopher P. and Ecklund, Elaine Howard. "Can Religiosity Be Explained by ‘Brain Wiring’? An Analysis of US Adults’ Opinions." <i>Religions,</i> 10, no. 10 (2019) MDPI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10100586.en_US
dc.identifier.digitalreligions-10-00586en_US
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3390/rel10100586en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/108048en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherMDPIen_US
dc.rightsThis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly citeden_US
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.subject.keywordreligiosityen_US
dc.subject.keywordreligion and scienceen_US
dc.subject.keywordbrainen_US
dc.subject.keywordneuroscienceen_US
dc.subject.keywordattitudesen_US
dc.subject.keywordopinionsen_US
dc.subject.keywordUnited Statesen_US
dc.titleCan Religiosity Be Explained by ‘Brain Wiring’? An Analysis of US Adults’ Opinionsen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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