The Neurotheology Link: An Intersection Between Spirituality and Health

Andrew B. Newberg: From my perspective, neurotheology is an area of study that dates back thousands of years. Study of the sacred texts of Buddhist and Hindu thinking reveals a significant interest in the nature of the human psyche and how practices such as meditation affect us. Even in Western Judeo– Christian traditions, there is an emphasis on human behaviors and how our minds and brains help us to establish particular behaviors as we go through our lives. Then, about 30 years ago, with the advent of brain-imaging studies and the cognitive neurosciences, clinicians and researchers gained the opportunity to explore what is actually going on in the brain when a person engages in various religious and spiritual experiences. However, neurotheology goes far beyond just brain imaging. Basically, in the study of neurotheology, we are trying to understand the relationships among the different areas and functions of the brain and how they help us or restrict us in terms of engaging the spiritual side of ourselves. For the term neurotheology as a concept to work, however, we need to define both parts of that term—the “neuro” side and the “theology” side—very broadly. For the neuro side, this has to include not just neuroscience, but psychology, anthropology, and medicine in general, as well as other areas of study that are involved in how our brains and our bodies interact. In terms of the theology piece, this also needs to be defined very broadly. Theology is a very specific field, which is focused on studying primary religious texts and religious ideas. Theologians ask questions, such as: “What does the Bible mean when we read a certain passage? How do we interpret that passage and make sense of it? How does it relate to our everyday lives, for example?” While these questions are a part of the neurotheology concept, this area of study also needs to include spirituality, rituals, beliefs, and practices, such as meditation and yoga and other disciplines that help us to be spiritual as well. The actual term neurotheology has pluses and minuses. Part of what prompted me to ultimately write a book called Principles of Neurotheology was because I was concerned about it as a term.1 I thought it was important to embrace what this term meant and what this field of study could be, going forward, and determine what types of guiding principles would be involved in supporting this field of study.