Religion's neural underpinnings have long been a topic of speculation and debate, but an emerging neuroscience of religion is beginning to clarify which regions of the brain integrate moral, ritual, and supernatural religious beliefs with functionally adaptive responses. In my presentation, I will review evidence indicating that religious cognition involves a complex interplay among the brain regions underpinning cognitive control, social reasoning, social motivations, emotion, reinforcement, and ideological beliefs. I will then conclude my presentation by summarizing current and future research efforts and why searching for God in the brain is critical to our understanding of human behavior.

Upon conclusion of this course, learners will be able to:

1. 1. Summarize the methods used to study the neural basis of religious belief.