How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [66]
TAMING YOUR SELFISH BRAIN
We all begin life with a biological propensity for selfishness, and evidence shows that we rarely, if ever, completely abandon these traits. We may suspend them temporarily in order to get along with others, but even then, altruism frequently appears to be a by-product of mutually satisfying each individual's personal desires.21 In one intriguing experiment, subjects were asked to assign two jobs, one to themselves, and another to a participant whom they could not see. One task was interesting and offered a financial incentive, but the other was boring and offered no reward. Most individuals chose the beneficial task for themselves. Another set of participants were told they could flip a coin to help with the decision-making process. Half used the coin, but the majority still assigned themselves the more enjoyable job, even when the coin toss went against them. However, when a mirror was placed in front of those making the assignment, they acted more fairly.22
Perhaps they did so out of guilt, or because they were reminded that another real person was involved. Interestingly, when researchers at the University of British Columbia introduced the concept of God during a simulated competition or “trust” game, participants—whether they were religious or not—acted far more generously toward their opponent.23 Clearly, spiritual incentives can induce people to act morally, but the researchers found that thoughts or images of police or civic authorities also increased generosity. This study does lend credence to the notion that authoritarian concepts can help tame the uncooperative “wolves” in society, which may explain why most ancient religions were filled with punitive gods and rules. But there is a fine line that needs to be walked, for as I mentioned earlier, too much focus on the negative can lead to anxiety, fear, and neurological distress.
Young children have a particularly difficult time with stories describing God's anger. For example, we know that nightmares are directly related to a child's reaction toward frightening images and hostile words,24 and we know that images of a punitive and authoritarian God increase children's anxiety, not just in Christians, but in Muslim children as well. In a study conducted in the United Arab Emirates, psychiatrists explored the prevalence of fear in 340 adolescents. Of the sixty fear items listed, belief in the devil and fear of breaking a religious law evoked extremely negative reactions in 50 percent of the subjects. According to the researchers, “Nearly half of the children reported that the fear caused considerable distress and interfered with daily activities.”25
How do we find the “right” balance between punishment and reward? It is a question that has never been satisfactorily answered from either a psychological or theological perspective. Nor has anyone been able to conclusively show that religion strengthens moral convictions. For example, one study found no relationship between honesty and religiosity,26 while another study found that students associated with religious organizations were more academically dishonest than those who practiced spirituality on their own.27 And although many individuals believe that their conversion to a deeper religious life helped them to abandon destructive behaviors, one study found that “saved” men were just as likely as “unsaved” men to read pornography and abuse their wives.28
So is there something more definitive that we can do to tame our selfish brain? Neurologically, the answer is surprisingly simple, because all we need to do is consciously exercise kindness and fairness toward others. As many studies have shown, the more compassionate we become, the more generous those around us become.29 And when we perceive others as being sensitive to our needs, our brains respond with greater