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

religion

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

February 2020

February 21, 2020

Will Cognitive Gadgets Replace Evolutionary Psychology?

Psychologist Cecilia Heyes thinks that evolutionary psychology's main claim – that the mind is made...

September 2019

September 25, 2019

Is Morality About Cooperation?

If there’s one thing nearly all people can agree on, it’s that some actions are...

July 2019

July 16, 2019

Free energy, the brain, and religion

Karl Friston, one of today's foremost neuroscientists, thinks that all brain processing boils down to...

June 2019

June 13, 2019

Tradition and Innovation as Worldviews: Is Research into Religion a Fool’s Errand?

Tradition and religion are a poor fit in the innovation-driven economy that professionals inhabit. Is...

May 2019

May 28, 2019

Did Big Gods Come Before or After Big Societies?

Do "big gods" – supernatural beings who care about human morality and fairness – help...

March 2019

March 16, 2019

How to Do Interdisciplinary Work that Works

This past weekend, a group of senior scholars met for a colloquium in Boston to...

March 08, 2019

A Big Weekend in Boston

Religion is a complicated nut to crack. It encompasses some of the most private and...

February 2019

February 22, 2019

Religion, Postmodernism, and Science™: Frenemies

Religion, science, and postmodernism are usually seen as enemies. But each of these ideologies holds...

February 07, 2019

We Trust Religious People More Because They’re Less Sexy

Why do people – even atheists – tend to trust religious believers more? A scientific...

January 2019

January 23, 2019

What Is Postmodernism? And Why Does It Matter for Science?

We're living in a post-truth era. Is postmodernism to blame, as famous philosopher Daniel Dennett...

January 09, 2019

Gods Are Everywhere Because It’s Hard to Bargain With Them

Why do so many people worship invisible beings, accept the authority of millennia-old texts, or...

November 2018

November 14, 2018

Are Your Political Beliefs Like a Religion?

If you’ve gotten into a political argument on Facebook recently, you might be excused for...

June 2018

June 28, 2018

Does Marching to the Same Rhythm Always Unite Us? Our New Study Says No

We humans love rhythm. Music, dancing, clapping, singing – no matter what form it comes...

January 2018

January 25, 2018

Can secular societies sustain themselves?

Is religion headed for extinction? If we look at the rare conditions that sustain the...

January 11, 2018

Why meaning is more important for humans than comfort

Religion does many things. It can form bonds between people, foment conflicts, and inspire people...

December 2017

December 13, 2017

Elitism Is a Problem. Being Elite Is the Solution.

It’s almost 2018. We survived the past year, but it was a stormy one. Global politics...

November 2017

November 22, 2017

How Religion Is Like Play

Is religion a form of play? I asked this question in a recent article in Orbiter,...

October 2017

October 31, 2017

Yes, religion is connected with morality. Here’s how

One of the most common ideas about religion is that it’s somehow intrinsically connected with...

October 17, 2017

Individualism Is on the Rise Worldwide

Individualism is on the upswing all across the world, new research shows. How will this...

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...

August 2017

August 30, 2017

Religion and self-regulation: a model (and a trip to Norway)

Last week, I had the good fortune to attend a conference in Norway. For four...

July 2017

July 18, 2017

Call for fellows: Sinai and Synapses

A few years ago, out of the blue, a rabbi named Geoff Mitelman wrote me...

June 2017

June 26, 2017

Rituals boost self-control

Maybe you’ve heard of the “marshmallow experiment” for testing people's self-control. In this classic psychology...

May 2017

May 22, 2017

Science and religion really are in conflict, people

The culture of science breaks ties with the past, while religion cherishes them. So for...

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 26, 2017

In New Zealand, religion reduces prejudice – but media inflames it

In New Zealand, strongly religious people have less prejudice for Muslims and immigrants. But nightly...

April 11, 2017

Cool new research in religion

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

April 04, 2017

Is a global community really possible?

This was supposed to be an era of globalism and tolerance. But if we want...

March 2017

March 28, 2017

Is a secular America a worse America?

After centuries of being more religious than other Western societies, the United States in the...

March 21, 2017

A computer model of atheism?

Will secularism continue to grow? Computer models suggest that the answer worldwide is "not really."