Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Science On Religion

Home
Religion News

God

Select a Category Atheism Cognitive Science of Religion Costly investment theory Cultural psychology Editorial Evolution Evolution of Religion Evolution of religion series Evolutionary psychology Ideology and religion Modeling Religion Project Modern culture and religion Most Popular Practice of science Religion and education Religion and ethics Religion and health Religion and perception Religion and prejudice Religious violence Religious ways of thinking Science and religion Scientific study of religion Secularization Spirituality Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2022 February 2022 December 2021 October 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012

September 2017

September 30, 2017

How the Brain’s Predictions Shape Religion

A cognitive process called predictive processing may be how the brain generates religious and spiritual...

July 2017

July 14, 2017

Supernatural punishment and the evolution of cooperation

Scientist Dominic Johnson thinks belief in supernatural punishment drove the evolution of cooperation. A new...

May 2017

May 11, 2017

Cognitive biases don’t explain religion, after all

A new study finds that the reason why Slovakians are religious, but their close neighbors...

April 2017

April 11, 2017

Cool new research in religion

If you ever want to get seriously frustrated, I suggest getting advanced graduate training in...

March 2016

March 21, 2016

How “big gods” make us play nice

Believing in gods that care about human morality may encourage people to treat each other...

February 2016

February 23, 2016

No space for God of the gaps

Scientists rudely keep uncovering more and more reasons for mysterious phenomena. That's why the god...

April 2015

April 01, 2015

Is belief in heaven good for you? No. Yes. Maybe.

Belief in hell is good for society – it frightens people into shaping up, toeing...

January 2015

January 24, 2015

Does Eben Alexander “prove heaven?” Sort of.

Instead of going back and forth between true believers in NDEs and skeptics, let’s take...

January 07, 2015

How separate are science and religion, anyway?

Eric Metaxas’s "scientific" argument for God makes religion too literal, placing it squarely in science’s...

October 2014

October 29, 2014

Theology: It matters.

Theological conflict is already everywhere. We're just not calling it theology. And we don't have...

June 2014

June 28, 2014

How do we make meaning of evolution? By admitting its uncomfortable truths.

the most vital trait of evolution is also its most difficult: there’s no purpose in...

April 2014

April 14, 2014

Awe increases religious belief

Two researchers from California have found that awe-inspiring images make people believe more in God....

February 2014

February 24, 2014

An historian’s call to understand and engage creationists

We can no longer pretend that the disagreement about the origin of species is only...

November 2013

November 21, 2013

Religion makes you prejudiced. God doesn’t.

Some kinds of religious priming makes people more prejudiced against minorities. Others seem to make...

May 2013

May 05, 2013

Exploring your religion

Check out ExploringMyReligion.org to learn how your religious beliefs and commitments shape up against orthodox,...

March 2013

March 01, 2013

Does God accept the real you?

Psychologists Bart Soenens (Ghent University, Belgium) applied the study of interpersonal relationships to religiosity and...

February 2013

February 08, 2013

Does suffering drive us to religion? Yep.

A nationwide values survey in New Zealand captures fascinating changes in New Zealanders' religiosity after...

November 2012

November 08, 2012

Supernatural agents influence our social strategies

Ever get the feeling you're not alone even when there's no one around? Researchers from...

October 2012

October 12, 2012

Are autistics less religious? Yes.

New research shows that autistics – and men! – may believe less in God because...

April 2012

April 30, 2012

Religious terrorism: an evolutionary explanation

Connor Wood Interest in the scientific study of religion has surged over the past decade....

April 21, 2012

God spot in the brain? More like God spots

Nicholas C. DiDonato Neurologists have long wondered whether a particular part of the brain can...

April 04, 2012

How much are your sacred values worth?

Connor Wood The best things in life can’t be bought…but everyone has his or her...

March 2012

March 28, 2012

Religion may reduce anxiety response

Connor Wood You’ve felt it before: the embarrassed, self-conscious realization that you’ve just committed a...

March 26, 2012

Political views may affect how we pray

Jonathan Morgan On the brink of election season, it's sometimes easy to imagine that liberals...

March 10, 2012

Mountains and mysticism

Connor Wood Religions make some pretty outrageous claims. Many traditions assert that angels have visited...

March 03, 2012

Why the feud between Darwin and religion?

Connor Wood In 2009, the world marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles...

February 2012

February 29, 2012

Medicine and religion – Part II

Connor Wood In December 2011, the Journal of Behavioral Medicine dedicated an entire issue to...

February 16, 2012

Too much science, too little religion: addressing reductionism

Nicholas C. DiDonato Religion is just a by-product of human evolution. Religion is just a...

February 16, 2012

Not-so-intelligent design

Evolution can sometimes produce characteristics that are, well, no good, from seed beetle genitalia that...