This is Your Brain on Religion

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Researchers from the National Institute on Aging and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, analyzed data collected from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies to evaluate the flow of brain activity when religious and non-religious individuals discussed their religious beliefs.

Dimitrios Kapogiannis, M.D., and colleagues determined causal pathways link brain networks related to “supernatural agents,” fear regulation, imagery and affect, all of which may be involved in cognitive processing of religious beliefs.

“When the brain contemplates a religious belief,” said Kapogiannis, “it is activating three distinct networks that are trying to answer three distinct questions:

1) is there a supernatural agent involved (such as God) and, if so, what are his or her intentions; 2) is the supernatural agent to be feared; and 3) how does this belief relate to prior life experiences and to doctrines?”

“Are there brain networks uniquely devoted to religious belief? Prior research has indicated the answer is a resolute no,” said study co-author Jordan Grafman, Ph.D.

“But this study demonstrates that important brain networks devoted to various kinds of reasoning about others, emotional processing, knowledge representation, and memory are called into action when thinking about religious beliefs.

The use of these basic networks for religious practice indicates how basic networks evolved to mediate much more complex beliefs like those contained in religious practice.”

For those of you interested in learning more about religion and the brain, check out this interesting post on the field of neurotheology.

Hey Moms and Dads! Check Out this Awesome Online Study of “Parenting with Grace”

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Catholic Mom Blogger, Sarah, of CloverLane blog is doing a great job walking her readers through the high points of Parenting with Grace:  A Catholic Parent Guide to Raising (almost) Perfect Kids  Better still,  she’s bringing her own wisdom and experience to the table as a mom of 6.  Additionally there are some great insights and comments in the responses to her posts.  I hope you’ll go check it out and participate in the conversation.

Here are her introductory comments.

I recently found this book (I don’t remember how), waited forever for it to come into our library, and then loved it so much I went out and bought my own copy.  I have read it, and re-read it, and have highlighted, turned down corners and created some notes for myself that I want to remember.  The book is called Parenting With Grace-The Catholic Parents’ Guide to Raising Almost Perfect Kids by Greg and Lisa Popcak.  

The first time I read it, I told Jeff that the book, in essence, combined every favorite book I’ve read on parenting (from infant to teen), baby care, child development, education and Catholicism.  (It has a foreword written by Dr. Bill and Martha Sears.) It is deep and thoughtful, but useful and practical.  I have no idea how many readers of my blog are Catholic, and although this book is deeply rooted in our faith, I think that many parents of different faiths would find it as inspirational as I have.

I thought I would share my general notes from each chapter as I write them (and as time allows) because I think this book contains powerful messages about parenting-different from what we parents often hear today. I highly recommend this book, and I am a little worried I won’t do it justice-I have so much highlighted!, but I want to stick this information into my brain.

Everything in quotations can be directly attributed to the authors, unless otherwise noted.  These are my own very brief personal notes/interpretation/things I want to remember.

Go read the rest at Clover Lane!

Study Says, “Christians Hate People Different from Them.” Except it Doesn’t

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A recent study claims, “Religiosity Means Love of Neighbor–If Values Line Up.”  You’ll probably be seeing more of this study since it seems like another opportunity for the secular world to prove that “those Christians” aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.   The problem is, the study doesn’t actually say what the headlines say it does.

What the study does show is that when researchers control for what they term “right wing authoritarianism”  (basically a term that means a judgmental, us-versus-them tribalism) religious people are actually more loving and generous to others than the general population.  The study is actually fairly faith-friendly, demonstrating what psychologists of religion have known since Gordon Allport differentiated “intrinsic religiousness” (i.e.,  people who go to church because they desire true conversion of heart) from “extrinsic religiousness” (i.e., people who go to church out of obligation, desire for status, or other external benefits of church-membership).  In essence, all the study really shows is that when people  go to Church out of a desire to learn how to love God and neighbor as opposed to going to church as a way of making themselves feel more special than other people, the former actually do treat their neighbors better than the average bear.   No duh.

The only thing besides the headline I’d take issue with in this study is the use of the term, “right wing authoritarianism.”  Wow.  What a biased and loaded phrase that is.  I’ve seen research like this before, but the use of such biased terms always strikes me as profoundly unethical and unprofessional.  I was always taught that pejorative language like “right wing” was to be avoided in professional research at all costs.   I’m not really faulting the authors of the study.  I understand it is a term that exists in the literature.  I just think it shouldn’t, especially in light of research that shows that it is actually left-wingers, more than right wingers, who are on average both less tolerant of differences of opinion and who are more likely to be ignorant regarding the beliefs of those who think differently than them.

Perhaps I need to dig a bit more, but I’m not aware of a liberal equivalent of “right wing authoritarianism” in the literature despite the fact that previous research really does show such a thing exists.  (Not to mention Pope Benedict’s observations regarding the “dictatorship of relativism.”

At any rate, this is just one more example of how the press is going to want to use research to bash people-of-faith.  But this time, when you see this study hit the mainstream press in a few weeks, you’ll know the truth.

Couple Conflict: Surprising Role Parenting Plays in Couple’s Ability to Rebound from Arguments

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One more reason parents need to be mindful of attachment parenting practices.  It turns out, the strength of parents’ attachment to their kids predicts kids’ ability to handle conflict in their future marriages. In a recent study examining couples’ conflict management styles

…researchers also had data on the target participants’ childhood attachment style and looked at how it impacted their conflict recovery. Unsurprisingly, individuals who were rated as securely attached recovered from conflict better – they knew that in the “cool down” task, it was time to put aside negative feelings and transition to positive aspects. Interestingly, it was the partners of such individuals that seemed to benefit: having a partner skilled at conflict recovery resulted in feeling more positive emotions in the relationship and greater relationship satisfaction.

The Les Mis Mass–My Parody of a Parody

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Deacon Greg Kandra kindly alerted us to the Les Mis Mass that’s actually happening in the UK.

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the opportunity to review the libretto, but I’ve been participating in a discussion on FB about it and I decided to preserve, for all posterity, the lyrics that I, personally,  think SHOULD be included.  Submitted for your approval, a few of my original, suggested, additions.

THE SONGS OF ANGRY MEN

Can you hear the parish sing? Singing the songs of angry men.
This is what happens when a parish strains for relevance and then…
When the beating of your heart/ Echoes the beating of the drums.
There is a fight that’s going to start when Communion comes!

 

PASTOR IN THE HOUSE–  (I grant that this one is a bit course, but so was the original, and in for a penny…)
Pastor in the House / Cassock swishing By
Dips in the collection plate as it. goes. by.
Everybody’s pal / Master at the Mic
(Never met an altar boy he didn’t like!)
If it were not for Pope Francis
He’d make Monsignor in a year
But now that dream’s in pieces
“JESUS! Wish my purple sash was here!”

 

And my personal favorite, written in response to a direct challenge from Googling God author, Mike Hayes.

I DREAMED A DREAM

VERSE 1:
I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When nuns were hip
And priests used puppets
I dreamed reforms would never die
I dreamed the Pope would be a Muppet

Then I was young and unafraid
The Sacred, once revered, was wasted
No Marty Haugen went unplayed!
And homilies were cut and pasted!

BRIDGE:
But new rubrics come at night
CDF–as soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame!

Aggiornamento–quite a ride!
ICEL was such a wonder
Took “one in being” in our stride
But then “consubstantial” came
VERSE 2:

And still I dream he’ll come to me
The Pope that will ordain both genders
Who gives “the Pill” to all for free!
And makes all liturgy a bender!

I had a dream my Church would be
So different from this hell I’m living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed
The dream…V-III

 

 

“Just Married” and Loving It! (Plus, Other Great Resources No Couple Should Be Without!)

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Dear Dr. Popcak,

 I just wanted to tell you (and your wife) THANK YOU for writing “Just Married.”

 My married friends and I are always complaining to each other about the absolute dearth of material for faithful Catholics wanting to date, prepare for marriage, and live marriage in an authentically Catholic way. Basically, we hear two messages:

 1. Marriage is hard. Marriages fall apart because people think it’s all going to be rosy, then when reality hits, the spouses don’t know what to do. Marriage is, above all else, a cross. It is really hard. You have to give up everything. Think St. Francis of Assisi, whose rolling around in snowy thorn bushes gives us a great illustration of what marriage is like. (This leaves us frustrated and confused. Our parents seem happy enough, “despite” having 5-7  kids and homeschooling… are they sinning and being too worldly? If marriage really is supposed to be miserable, do I really want to do this?)

 2. Shockingly, the Catholic Church is pro-sex! You heard that right. Blah blah blah remedial stuff about chastity that has been drilled into us since seventh grade. (Yes, it’s important that this message gets out, and a lot of people still need to hear it, but we’ve already sat through enough Jason Evert in high school and we’re committed to abstinence before, fidelity during, and lifelong commitment. Is there anything else to say?)

 So then we get married and stumble around in the dark because we know we’re supposed to make sacrifices for each other but no one’s ever taught us how to actively maintain a relationship, or how to work through disagreements in productive ways. No one’s ever told us that marriage is meaningful and worthwhile. And happy! Enjoyable, even! I got married before most of my friends, so I’ve spent many a rehearsal dinner conversation shrugging and saying “sure, marriage is hard, but so was college. And I know you think, overall, very highly of that experience and are grateful for what you learned and how you grew there. Marriage isn’t anything to freak out about.”

“Just Married” has been VERY HELPFUL for us in our marriage (so far, we’re only into chapter 3), and now we’re giving it to all our friends as wedding gifts.

 Maybe you can write a marriage prep book/program for faithful Catholics.   Then pastors and others running marriage prep can decide which program is best for each couple.

 Mary

Gosh Mary,   Thanks for your kind message. Lisa and I are so glad you are finding Just Married to be so helpful.  You will be pleased to know that we actually have two programs that would fit the request you made.

First, Ascension Press just published the marriage preparation program I developed with Tom McCabe.  It is called Living a Joy-Filled Marriage and it is the living skills complement to Christopher West’s God’s Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage.  It can stand alone or be used as a complement to Christopher West’s program.

Second, you might be interested in the marriage enrichment program Lisa and I published through Crossroads called, A Marriage Made for Heaven.  It is a series of 12 once-a-month meetings covering different topics that every couple should master to have a great Catholic marriage.  Each session starts with a video presentation by Lisa and I and includes exercises, discussion questions, case studies, and take home experiences for couples.  The program was designed to work with both small and large groups.  It requires no training to run.  If you can read and push “play” you can become a marriage minister in your parish or with a small group of friends.

Again, thank you for your thoughtful note.  We’re so glad that you liked the book.  We hope that some of the other resources we mentioned above might help you go even deeper in your marriage.

Please be assured of our prayers.

God Bless,  Dr.P.