Ample evidence connects dreams with spiritual and religious experiences, yet dreams remain understudied as a source of supernatural agent concepts. Stories about life-changing dreams appear frequently in religious literature and oral tradition. Many people throughout history claim to have encountered supernatural agents in dreams,…
On this project, CMAC investigates the effect of Parkinson’s Disease on cognition and emotion. The project uses advances in functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI) techniques, new psychophysical cognitive priming techniques, and classical “on-off” levodopa (LD) comparative techniques to identify brain system alterations…
Founding Director Patrick McNamara Sacred Spaces Volume 7 2015 Abstract: The neuroscience literature supports the idea that spiritual transformation is a powerful behavioral and cognitive change process involving fundamental alterations in the sense of self. Brain regions that are known to mediate the…
Introduction It’s a question many religious parents dread: “When Spot dies, will he go to heaven?” Countless children – and adults – have wondered whether their pets possess spirits, and the debate isn’t likely to go away anytime soon. Still,…
Welcome! The site Institute for the Bio-Cultural Study of religion (ibcsr.org) has moved to Center for Mind and Culture (mindandculture.org) in order to consolidate our distinct projects under one digital roof. The Center for Mind and Culture (CMAC) is dedicated…
Welcome! The site Science on Religion (scienceonreligion.org) has moved to Center for Mind and Culture (mindandculture.org) in order to consolidate our distinct projects under one digital roof. The Center for Mind and Culture (CMAC) is dedicated to developing innovative solutions…
At CMAC, our research focuses on the mind-culture nexus. A significant part of that research involves studying religion and its role within that nexus, but there are many ways to study religion. What does it mean to engage in the scientific…
We recently interviewed CMAC alum Jenn Lindsay about her career as a filmmaker and the role that her work with CMAC and IBSCSR played into launching her into her current work. Check out the crowdfunding campaign for her upcoming film…
The Institute for the Biocultural Study of Religion is the branch of the Center for Mind and Culture that conducts non-partisan research focused on the scientific study of religion, combining: What is the bio-cultural study of religion? It is a way of…
Around the world and throughout history, people have expressed belief in the existence of powerful, invisible entities who — much like us — have intentions, needs, and goals. Whether gods, demons, ghosts, or ancestor spirits, these “supernatural agents” cannot be…