www.igor-chudov.com By IGOR CHUDOV
Many of us hold strong religious beliefs. Religions are foundational not only for individuals; they support entire societies, preventing self-destruction by keeping perverse and antisocial behaviors in check.
Religion is an ephemeral connection between humans and God, a private and direct bond that is, paradoxically, mediated by ancient traditions and group practices in houses of worship. People believed in supernatural beings for about as long as they were human:
We can ask a question: can the invisible link between the faithful and God be severed by a third party armed with the tools provided by the latest scientific advances?
Disturbingly, the answer may be yes. Scientists led by Dr. Colin Holbrook at UCLA undertook a multi-year endeavor to discover ways to stop “religious beliefs and right-wing prejudice.” They attempted to apply direct electromagnetic stimulation to the brain to alter human beliefs, specifically turning off belief in God.
Dr. Holbrook has led extensive research on this topic for many years. He described how electromagnetic stimulation of the frontal cortex (frontal part of the brain) “experimentally decreased avowed belief in God”:
After using a purposely made device, scientists describe a significant reduction in expressed belief in positive religious ideas:
Religious belief: We next tested the effects of TMS on endorsement of religious beliefs following a reminder of death. In a marginal trend, overall avowed religious belief (including both positive and negative beliefs) was reduced in the TMS condition relative to the sham condition 2.95 vs 4.26. As predicted, this shift was driven by a significant reduction in expressed belief in positive religious ideas. Participants in the TMS condition reported an average of 32.8% less conviction in positive religious beliefs…
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