thinking can set you free:
Analytic Thinking Weakens Religious Belief
Most of the worldâs population believes in God, or gods, but alongside them there are also hundreds of millions of nonbelievers. What makes one a believer or not?
Religious faith is likely a complex phenomenon, shaped by multiple aspects of psychology and culture, say the authors of a new study. But the researchers, Ara Norenzayan and Will Gervais of the University of British Columbia in Canada, showed in a series of clever studies that at least one factor consistently appears to decrease the strength of peopleâs religious belief: analytic thinking.
There are surely many factors at play here, but the researchers say their results suggest that oneâs style of thought may be a crucial contributor to religious belief. Intuitive thinkers are more likely to be religious; analytical types, less so. âOne explanation for belief is that it is based on a number of intuitions we have about the world around us. People donât necessarily come to belief because they reason into it. Intuition helps us,â says Norenzayan.
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/...nking-weakens-religious-belief/#ixzz1tcq19y4B
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/...nking-weakens-religious-belief/#ixzz1tcpn2aPV
Analytic Thinking Weakens Religious Belief
Most of the worldâs population believes in God, or gods, but alongside them there are also hundreds of millions of nonbelievers. What makes one a believer or not?
Religious faith is likely a complex phenomenon, shaped by multiple aspects of psychology and culture, say the authors of a new study. But the researchers, Ara Norenzayan and Will Gervais of the University of British Columbia in Canada, showed in a series of clever studies that at least one factor consistently appears to decrease the strength of peopleâs religious belief: analytic thinking.
There are surely many factors at play here, but the researchers say their results suggest that oneâs style of thought may be a crucial contributor to religious belief. Intuitive thinkers are more likely to be religious; analytical types, less so. âOne explanation for belief is that it is based on a number of intuitions we have about the world around us. People donât necessarily come to belief because they reason into it. Intuition helps us,â says Norenzayan.
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/...nking-weakens-religious-belief/#ixzz1tcq19y4B
Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/...nking-weakens-religious-belief/#ixzz1tcpn2aPV
