I do not find this science headline surprising: Brain study shows that thinking about God reduces distress — but only for believers.
There is nothing magical about thoughts associated with something positive inducing a more positive emotional state. I imagine that for lovers of “Mom” or “long walks on the beach” thoughts of these would likewise reduce stress.
But there were a few elements in the article I did find surprising. In a disappointing way. There were two common assumptions repeated, and by association with science, perhaps given greater legitimacy.
First, “God.” Co-author of the study wrote, “Eighty-five percent of the world has some sort of religious beliefs.” That is beliefs, plural. Yet in this and so many other studies we read of God, singular. As if all people around the globe and even within this one country believe in the same god.
The very first sentence to the article -
Thinking about God may make you less upset about making errors, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. [all emphases mine]
Um. Thinking about which god? Does Shiva count? Did Christians think about Allah and Muslims about Jesus and the triune god? I doubt it. In the very least, the piece should have better highlighted that individuals did not think about “God” so much as they likely thought about “their god.”
Second, the researchers found this bit noteworthy:
Interestingly, atheists reacted differently; when they were unconsciously primed with God-related ideas, their ACC increased its activity.
Those atheists — they get upset by “God-related ideas.” So negative.
How much do you want to bet that were the researchers to measure the Christians’ response to Allah-related ideas they would discover an increase in anterior cingulate cortext (ACC) activity.
The paragraph in question continues:
The researchers suggest that for religious people, thinking about God may provide a way of ordering the world and explaining apparently random events and thus reduce their feelings of distress. In contrast, for atheists, thoughts of God may contradict the meaning systems they embrace and thus cause them more distress.
Okay, that’s the second stupid assumption. That atheists have distinct “meaning systems” about their atheism. Do people who don’t believe in the Loch Ness monster similarly have no-monster meaning systems? Please.
Perhaps atheists simply associate religious ideas with negative experiences they have had. Like being preached to or otherwise having someone else’s “God” shoved into their lives. You think?
The final two sentences to the article are real winners. Stupidly condescending and worse -
Atheists shouldn’t despair, though. “We think this can occur with any meaning system that provides structure and helps people understand their world.” Maybe atheists would do better if they were primed to think about their own beliefs, he says. [emphasis added]
Wait. The researchers couldn’t possibly be stating that, when primed with religious ideas (god-related), atheist would be better off thinking about their own beliefs?
I think my brain is bleeding.
So all you atheists out there, from now on when someone says God, think freedom, or science, or even rainbows. Then you could be happier. And then absolutely everyone could believe in God.
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Tags: atheism, belief, mental health, religion
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