Separating the benefits of spirituality and religion from the harmful side effects

[drumdude]

DCP posted a link to an article today with some stunning numbers:

Finally, the Christopher Hitchens Memorial “How Religion Poisons Everything” File© was created to chronicle at least a small portion of the horrors to which decent people are routinely subjected by theism and theists. Here is just one example of those abominable horrors:

“Finding the light: The science behind spirituality as an antidepressant”

“It’s incontrovertible that a teenager with a strong spiritual core has an 80 percent decreased risk of addiction. … So for a teen without a strong spiritual core, an 80 percent increased risk. . . . We find young people are two-thirds less likely to become depressed, 82 percent less likely to take their life when they have a strong spirituality that is shared. We know that a strong relational spiritual life that is shared is more protective than any pill, than any therapy, than any program.”

I see no reason to doubt the claims, as they come from a well respected academic named Lisa Miller at Columbia University.

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2022/11/3 ... ty-science


This is used by DCP, of course, as some sort of justification for all the damage that Mormonism is known to have caused. "But it's a way to be spiritual, and spirituality is healthy!"

The real question DCP should be asking is, is Mormonism the best way to achieve these health benefits? If you have the choice between chemotherapy and laser, and the laser has less side effects and just as good outcome - why choose chemotherapy? Why choose Mormonism if it comes with so much baggage? There are plenty of other religions out there which are objectively less toxic than the LDS church. Including other forms of Mormonism. Why not choose one of them?

Do you really have to believe Hebrews built a hidden civilization in the pre-Columbian Americas to lower your risk of depression? Does that sound like a reasonable trade-off?

[Res Ipsa]

I’m not as trusting of the source. Claims like this raises red flags for me:

Now a mother — through adoption and through natural birth — she studies the connection between flourishing and having faith in a supernatural force that goes by many names, including “God.” Using imaging, she’s watched prayer and meditation light up brains, showing the same vibration frequency as that of the Earth’s crust, she says.

There’s lots of terrible “science” out there that is based on MRI/fMRI images.

[Gadianton]

Deepak Chopra is the first reviewer on her site to give her book a big plug.

I read most of the D News article, honestly, she comes across as a nut. I don't buy any of these claims. How do you scientifically determine that somebody has a "strong spiritual core?" sounds really prone to circularity.

Her own case though doesn't bolster DCPism very much. Technically, Hitchens's case was against religion and not spirituality. Not that I think he held spirituality in high regard, and he seemed to respect some theists.

I think Miller's number was 70% of spiritual core people are spiritual in context with their religion. So you could say that, sure, religion is important as it's still the primary vehicle by which spirituality is brought to people. But 30% having a relational spiritual core with no formal religion isn't nothing either.

Thirty percent of people say I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious, I feel spiritual in nature, with my family, music

But let's be clear that DCP's quote here is off target, because Miller's contention isn't about theism, and religion is the vehicle of the product, not the exclusive vehicle, and not the product.

[drumdude]

I would love to see the research, unfortunately all DCP linked to was a puff piece Deseret interview.

It’s a shame DCP never really digs into anything at any depth, he’s content to just stare at the surface.

[IHAQ]

Peterson conflates “religion” with “community” all the time.

[IHAQ]

Through MRI studies, it is absolutely the case that human beings are physical, emotional, cognitive and spiritual.

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2022/11/3 ... ty-science

CFR on MRI studies that have identified a persons spirituality during scans. What they show is increased brain activity when emotions are heightened. You'd get the same results from scanning a human brain during an orgasm, although that might be a logistically difficult study to run through an MRI scanner...

One-third of spirituality is innate, two-thirds environmentally cultivated.

The article is littered with I referenced claims as if they are proven facts.

I’d like to see to data.

[IHAQ]

Did Peterson or Deseret News mention that Dr Miller thinks…

The universal innate capacity for spiritual development can be nurtured both within and outside the framework of institutional religion.

https://spiritualityineducation.org/

Dr Miller also highlights some traits of organisations where a child’s spirituality can best be developed.

Democracy and social justice | They study and put into practice democratic ideals and principles of social justice.

That is the opposite of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

[IHAQ]

Of all the studies in which Anderson was involved, “The Religious Brain Project” received the most attention in popular culture. “It was discussed on ‘Good Morning America’ with Miley Cyrus. It was a headline for ‘The Onion,’” Anderson said. It appeared in news outlets all over the world.

He and his colleagues studied returned missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because they were individuals who had similar religious training and were young and healthy. “They are able to do the one thing that you need for imaging the brain, which is to say, ‘I’m feeling something spiritual right now.’ And that’s exactly what we were looking for,” Anderson said. All participants were devout practitioners of their religion.

“We managed this study on a shoestring budget,” he said.

Their findings were stark. “We were amazed by what we saw. First of all, we found that they were able to feel the spirit in a laboratory setting. Inside the scanner, it can be loud, but it’s also a private place, and we found that people had reported experiences that were similar to an intense worship service. Almost everyone came out of the MRI scanner in tears,” he said.

https://www.holladayjournal.com/2020/01 ... uman-brain

I hope that this isn’t the study Dr Miller has relied upon to make her assertions…

[IHAQ]

But let's be clear that DCP's quote here is off target, because Miller's contention isn't about theism, and religion is the vehicle of the product, not the exclusive vehicle, and not the product.

Not for the first time, the Dean cuts straight to the heart of the matter.

Whether it’s meditation or a walk in nature, reading a sacred text or saying a prayer, there are many ways to tap into a heightened awareness of the world around you and your place in it. In The Awakened Brain, psychologist Dr. Lisa Miller shows you how.

https://www.lisamillerphd.com
A walk in the forest is as spiritually beneficial as a prayer to <insert preferred flavour of deity> as far as Dr Millers research is concerned. The trees don't require 10% of your income, nor will they pass judgement on your sexuality, nor will they require you to allow an unrelated adult male private alone time with your kids.

[Philo Sofee]

I would certainly rather walk through the forest than other activities to heighten my own spirituality. Sitting by a burbling brook is another very nice way to do it.