God and the Human Mind:

​How Do Cognitive Science and Neuroscience Interface with Religion?

SUGGESTED PRE-EVENT READINGS & VIDEOS

1. Scientific Explanations for the Mind and Religious Belief (18-minute video) – Tania Lombrozo discusses scientific explanations for the mind and religious belief.
2. Religion and the Brain: A Debate (17 pages if printed) – Jordan Grafman debates whether evolution explains why the human brain supports religious belief.
3. Does Evolutionary Psychology Undermine Religion? (9-minute video) – A PBS Closer to Truth interview with Justin Barrett.

ADDITIONAL (SHORT) READINGS AND JOURNAL ARTICLES THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST:

1. NPR blog post by Tania Lombrozo: Are Scientific and religious explanations incompatible? (3 pages printed)
2. Article on Jordan Grafman’s research: New Research Reveals the Brain’s Role in Mystical Experiences. (1 page printed)
3. Plunkett, D., Buchak, L., & Lombrozo, T. (2020). When and why people think beliefs are “debunked” by scientific explanations of their origins. Mind and Language, 35(1), 3-28.
4. Cristofori, I., Bulbulia, J., Shaver, J. H., Wilson, M., Krueger, F., & Grafman, J. (2016). Neural correlates of mystical experience. Neuropsychologia, 80, 212-220.