In addition to conducting research, we need to communicate it. Project-specific communication, in the form of blog posts, newsletters, and social media can advance understanding, inform future donors, and enact change. By sharing CMAC’s research methods, project goals, and specific…
Book Review Spirit Tech: The Brave New World of Consciousness Hacking and Enlightenment Engineering by Kate J. Stockly and Wesley Wildman, is an exploration of the various rising industries that focus on the spiritual growth of individuals. The book covers…
In addition to conducting research, we need to communicate it. Project-specific communication, in the form of blog posts, newsletters, and social media can advance understanding, inform future donors, and enact change. By sharing CMAC’s research methods, project goals, and specific…
Vox’s Sigal Samuel talks with scholars and authors Wesley Wildman and Kate Stockly about their book, Spirit Tech: The Brave New World of Consciousness Hacking and Enlightenment Engineering. They discuss high-tech tools like brain stimulation and neurofeedback-guided meditation that purport…
Spirit tech refers to brain-based technologies used to guide spiritual enhancement. The future of spirituality is here and growing. Empowered by knowledge, we can help shape how communities will embrace and apply these technologies. Neurofeedback-guided meditation Meditation techniques have been…
CMAC is excited to introduce DIGETHIX – a public education and communication project that provides publicly available discussions on issues involving technology and ethics. The goal of DIGETHIX is to promote high-level, practical ethical analysis through conversations with scholars and industry experts,…
One of the first questions that comes up when talking about new spiritual services like deep brain stimulation or hallucinogenic experiences is: are they the real deal? Are these experiences authentic? Isn’t there some important difference between a nun who…
From hallucinogenic drugs to deep brain stimulation, we are constantly finding new ways to foster or deepen spiritual experiences. The sheer range of technology available today that aims to create, guide, and optimize spiritual experiences is dizzying. You may be…
7th Biennial Conference of the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion August 12 – 15, 2018 It’s been a busy week of CMACer presentations & participation. Here’s a full listing of all that we were up to at…
SPIRIT TECH: THE BRAVE NEW WORLD OF TECHNOLOGY-ASSISTED SPIRITUALITY In 2017, best-selling author Jonathan Robinson explained his, well, let’s say innovative, approach to spirituality: “I like playing mad scientist. You know, you try one thing and see what effect it…
Research Associate Megan K. DeFranza, Post-Doctoral Fellow Stephanie N. Arel, Doctoral Fellow Kate Stockly Theology and Sexuality Volume 24 Issue 2 (Special Issue) May 2018 Abstract: This collection of essays arose from the conference “Sex on the Margins: Navigating Religious, Social,…
Many American girls have been taught to consider their wedding day the “happiest day of their life.” But how do we reconcile that sense of hope with the fact that entering into an intimate relationship with a man is one…
This article was originally published at Patheos and has been reprinted with permission. Why Is Shamanism So Common?
Post-Doctoral Fellow Connor Wood & Doctoral Fellow Kate Stockly Behavioral and Brain Sciences April 6, 2018 Abstract: Singh deploys cultural evolution to explain recurrent features of shamanistic trance forms, but fails to substantively address important distinctions between these forms. Possession trance…
Doctoral Fellow Kate Stockly & Post-Doctoral Fellow Stephanie Arel and Research Associate Megan DeFranza Conference on Evolution of Religion II: How Biology, Psychology and Culture Interact November 14, 2017 Abstract: One of the most perpetually puzzling questions about religion is: why…