1. Defining "Religion"

2. History of the relationship between science and religion

3. Using scientific and religious values to cultivate a sound mind and body

1. What is Religion?

Throughout time and across cultures, religion has survived in its many forms without any aid from modern technology. Will the concept of religion change with the introduction of technology? What defines religion?

* customs and rituals

* doctrines

* symbols

* histories

* experience

The four basic features of religious experiences:

1. Ineffability, i.e. they can't be expressed in words

2. Noetic quality, i.e. they are experienced as authoritative sources of knowledge

3. Transiency, i.e. they last a short time but leave a lasting impression

4. Passivity, i.e. there is a sense of being controlled by the Other

Argyle (2000)

* Can technology enhance the religious experience? Make communciation of histories, symbols, and ideas easier? Create wider networks of people coming together to perform customs and rituals?

 

2. History of the Relationship between Religion and Science

* early 1900s: Behaviorist psychologists and taboo against introspective and subjective studies in psychology field (Harrington & Zajonc, 2006)

- little interest in individual spiritual or religious experiences

* 1992: Sarason addresses the American Psychological Association:

I think I am safe to say that the bulk of the membership of the APA would, if asked, describe themselves as agnostic or atheistic. I am also safe in assuming that any or all of the ingredients of religious worldview are of neither personal nor professional interest to most psychologists"

(Argyle, 2000)

* Also in 1992: neuroscientist Richard Davidson leaves Harvard graduate school and organizes an expedition to India to study the brainwaves of Tibetan Buddhist monks in mediation

* Today: innovative technologies (cellphones, home automation systems, computer software, etc.) being designed for those wishing to bring the modern world into their religious practice

Religion is sometimes viewed with suspicion and negativity. Such negativity towards religion is not unexpected though, in a world where history has repeatedly shown religion being used as a means to control and oppress people.

ex. American history: people using passages from the bible as support for slavery leading up to the Civil War.

ex. Jim Jones created his own church and community of followers. He persuaded his group to move to a remote location in South America and persuaded/forced 900 people to drink cyanide in a mass suicide.

There are many more examples of religion being used as a coercive measure to exploit the less fortunate.

While there are certainly individuals and groups who have exploited religion (and those who still do today), modern technology has the potential to cultivate and legitimize those values of religion that can instill a heightened sense of consciousness and conscientiousness in people.

3. Using Scientific and Religious values to Cultivate a Sound Mind and Body

* Statement from the Dalai Lama at the Mind and Life Insititue conference (a conference where buddhists and scientists convene for discussion) at MIT:

What I have learned in the past several years, in the course of meetings with scientists, is that the brain cannot develop properly and people cannot be healthy in the absence of human affection. I see in such scientific findings some kind of backing for the promoting of human values. In order to have a healthy body, you must have a happy mind...So I now have a few more reasons for urging people to practice the cultivation of values: developmental reasons, health reasons, peace of mind reasons. All suggest the combination of brain and heart is something very crucial. In this context, meetings between science and older traditions like Buddhism can be very useful.

(Harrington & Zajonc, 2006)

The interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion and science has much to offer. When experts from religious, technological, and scientific fields all work together towards one goal, each will contribute unique perspectives that could contribute to our understanding of the human experience in a currently unimaginable way.