{"id":246,"date":"2019-02-05T04:11:44","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T04:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/?p=246"},"modified":"2019-02-05T04:11:44","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T04:11:44","slug":"three-proofs-religion-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/2019\/02\/three-proofs-religion-works.html","title":{"rendered":"Three proofs that religion works"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OrganAn Opinion piece in yesterday\u2019s Sunday NYTs, by psychologist David Desteno, identifies several practices that science could borrow from religion: What Science Can Learn From Religion<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I like articles that explore the intersection of science and religion because I\u2019m a big fan of both. A frontier exists between the two in the U.S. today, where opinion, trolling, and agendas have become partisan, treacherous, and unforgiving. So, articles like this can help.<\/p>\n

A good faith attempt is made here to find common ground. The author presents recent scientific studies reinforcing the validity and effectiveness of several \u201creligious\u201d practices. He cautions that science should not be too eager to dismiss religion in its entirety.<\/p>\n

He suggests that we should keep those practices that can be validated by science and discard the faith part, if you must. (I\u2019ll come back to this last point later.)<\/p>\n

Three proven \u201creligious\u201d practices<\/h2>\n

Three “religious” practices are presented which are proven by science. These should come as no surprise to anyone who has attend church services regularly. We\u2019ve been practicing these for thousands of years and I doubt we would have continued to do so if they weren\u2019t effective.<\/p>\n

Meditation<\/h3>\n

The author defines meditation as a religious practice that attempts to reduce suffering and enhance ethical behavior. The same might be said of reflection and prayer. He cites his own research indicating that meditation can lead practitioners to experience greater compassion in the face of suffering, and to \u201cforgo vengeance\u201d in response to perceived insults. Echos of “As we forgive those\u2026”?<\/p>\n

Ritual<\/h3>\n

The article notes that religious ritual involving actions, or \u201csynchronous movement\u201d or collective song on the part of participants has been shown to promote \u201cincreased self-control\u201d and a \u201cgreater feeling of affiliation and empathy.\u201d\u00a0 We follow the liturgy, rise together, and read responsively or sing in unison.<\/p>\n

Public performance<\/h3>\n

Finally, \u201cpublicly stating beliefs that we don\u2019t initially endorse leads to a psychological tension that is often remedied by altering our beliefs and behaviors to match our public pronouncements\u201d. We recite the Apostles Creed, offer the Lord\u2019s Prayer and read scripture aloud in public to strengthen our faith. We speak affirmatively, with conviction, in a way that engages us emotionally and requires commitment.<\/p>\n

Now, science tells us that these \u201creligious\u201d practices work. I\u2019m not sure we needed science to tell us this. These practices have been followed for millennia\u2026because they work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Principles of live performance<\/h2>\n

Of course, what interests me the most is how closely these practices mirror principles of live performance that can be applied to the public reading of scripture. We apply the principles of live performance to initiate a dramatic encounter with scripture, invite the audience to participate in that encounter, and share in a trans-formative experience. We do this because these principles work.<\/p>\n

Meditation:<\/strong> Lose yourself. The public reading of scripture is not about you. It\u2019s about a shared experience between the reader and the audience via an encounter with the text. Reading aloud requires a level of concentration that takes us outside of ourselves and focuses our attention (mindfully) on something bigger than ourselves. This can be a transcendent experience for both reader and listeners.<\/p>\n

Ritual:<\/strong> The regular and familiar reading of scripture aloud in church \u2013 including the responsive readings of Psalms — evokes empathy for the experience of those lives captured in the text. It binds us together as reader and listening audience.<\/p>\n

Public professions of faith:<\/strong> \u00a0Reading scripture aloud is the most basic form of evangelism. Speaking with distinction and conviction increases our own confidence and makes God’s words our own.<\/p>\n

The article suggests that these practices are all proven by research, and can help participants endure difficulties, change their views or move them toward action<\/u>. Isn\u2019t that our goal as lay readers?<\/p>\n

My two cents<\/h2>\n

I do like articles like this but they\u2019re not without faults. They tend to come from the \u201creligion is not all<\/span> bad\u2026but mostly\u201d school of thought. So, a little patience and forbearance is required. A few observations:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After highlighting some positive aspects of religious [practice], a general disclaimer is offered by the author, \u201creligion as a whole must be judged by its full set of positive and negative effects.\u201d Of course, the same could and should be said for science and technology.<\/p>\n

\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Horrible things have been done in the name of religion, and articles like this always imply that religion is to blame. Horrible things have been done in the name of science, but in articles like this science seems never to blame. Regarding science, they seem content to blame a\u00a0 few bad or misguided men (predominantly men to date) who have misused science.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Science is always positioned as the new, innovative, progressive way of thinking and religion as the old, retrograde way of thinking. Of course, science has been around for thousands upon thousands of years. It wasn\u2019t invented yesterday. No one \u201cdiscovered\u201d agriculture or animal husbandry in a lab. We figured it out through trial and error. What is relatively\u00a0 recent is the professionalizing of science and achieving industrial scale. And that has not always resulted in compassion, empathy, or feelings of affiliation.<\/p>\n

Neither did God or the Bible instruct Adam and his progeny how to hunt, or plant, or fish. Much of what we have learned including how we actually practice our faith (after Leviticus) may actually be the result of hypothesis, endless trial and error and constant peer review: i.e. the scientific method.<\/p>\n

Science need not stand in opposition to religion. Religion need not stand in opposition to science. Science is a part of creation. What we may be witnessing is those who have adopted science as a new religion demonstrating an eagerness to appropriate.<\/p>\n

Etc.<\/p>\n

The public reading of scripture<\/h2>\n

But on the whole, its nice to know that science agrees with what came to be known as \u201creligious\u201d practice and the effort of the author is appreciated. And we should continue to read scripture aloud in public.\u00a0 Keep practicing what we know works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Opinion piece in yesterday\u2019s Sunday NYTs, by psychologist David Desteno, identifies several practices that science could borrow from religion: What Science Can Learn From Religion. I like articles that explore the intersection of science and religion because I\u2019m a big fan of both. A frontier exists between the two in the U.S. today, where…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":621,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThree proofs that religion works - Hear the Gospel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/hearthegospel\/2019\/02\/three-proofs-religion-works.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Three proofs that religion works - Hear the Gospel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An Opinion piece in yesterday\u2019s Sunday NYTs, by psychologist David Desteno, identifies several practices that science could borrow from religion: What Science Can Learn From Religion. 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