Course Syllabus

Semester & Location:	Fall 2019 - DIS Copenhagen
Type & Credits:	Elective Course - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Neuroscience, Psychology, Religious Studies
Faculty Members:	Jes Buster Madsen - jesbustermadsen@gmail.com
Program Director:	Lars Rossen
Program Assistant:	Jenna Bates -  jba@dis.dk
Time & Place:	Tuesday & Friday, 14:50-16.10, F24-206

 

Description of course:

The course offers a biological and neurocognitive psychological approach to explore and debate what neuroscience, psychology, and related fields reveal about the brain’s role in spiritual experiences, religiosity and atheism. Main topics include in -depth discussions of the nature of the field of neurotheology; health benefits and risks related to being or not being religious; functional neuroanatomy, neurocognition and neurochemistry of religious and spiritual experience; neurochemistry correlated with spiritual experiences, mystical states and religiosity across the lifespan with respect to neuro-cognitive factors.

 

Learning objectives of the course: 

By the end of this course you will gain insight into the complexity of researching religion, spirituality, and atheism from a neuroscientific perspective. You will be informed about some of the most relevant debates and research directions currently being pursued pertaining to the exploration of the “religious” brain. We explore evolutionary arguments for and against religion, we discuss studies that explore religion and spirituality in the brain. You will also gain understanding of human consciousness, as this pertains to understanding scientific methods, in relation to the study of religion.

You will also have the opportunity to think of an exciting research question, to explore this topic in depth and to come up with your own experimental paradigm.

 

Field Studies:

When: September 25, 13.00-17.00

Location: Ateistisk Selskab

Topic: The role of atheism in the modern society

 

When: December 4, 10.00-11.30

Location: Medicinsk Museion

Topic: The relationship between Religion and Science

 

Guest Lecturer:

Jonathan Puntervold, Cand. Mag. - The Miracle of Language

Michael Perlt, Ph.D - TBA

 

Approach to Teaching:

A key component of this course is student participation and discussion. It is thought, that students should take responsibility for their own learning, and that discussion and debate is the cornerstone of a good learning environment.

Each class is structured such that it begins with a short exercise, which will often be practical in nature, and thereby activate and engage the students. This is then followed by a mini-lecture, where bullet points and essential ideas are explained to the class. Afterwards, the class will engage in group work and discussion, in order to summarize and understand todays reading.

 

Expectations of the Students: 

This course emphasizes collaborative learning. This involves in-class group activities and frequent discussion among peers punctuated by mini-lectures from the instructor for context and direction. It is expected by the instructor, that each student engages actively in class, and 10% of the final grade is based on it. Additionally, the class is non-electronic, meaning that laptops are not allowed in class.

 

Grading: 

Assignment	Percent
Participation and Attendance	10%
Paper Assignment I	20%
Midterm	20%
Research Question, Poster Session	25%
Final Exam	25%
TOTAL	100%

 

Evaluation

 

Participation and Attendance: 10%

The heart of this class is driven by student participation. The primary character of the class will be exploration of ideas, idea generation, inquiry and discussion. Students must bring to class an inquisitive mind, a willingness to share their thoughts, ideas and questions. Grades will be deducted when readings have not been completed and when participatory efforts are lacking. Please see participation rubric on canvas for specifics. Unexcused and frequent absenteeism will result in a loss of grade.

 

(Paper Assignment ): 20%

Neuroscience of religion Essay

Due: September 20

Midterm: 25%

Due: October 18

There will be a midterm exam based on the readings and class discussion. It will be a combination of short and long answer questions. There will be a review and more information as the semester progresses.

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

 

Research Question/Poster Session: 25%

Due: November 26

For this class we will simulate a poster session at a conference. The conference is on methods used in the study of neuroscience of religion and atheism. Small groups will present to their peers on their assigned empirical method and its uses. We encourage the presenters to rely also on the material (papers and course material) presented during the class. Preparation will include group work outside of class to develop the poster as well as guidance from the lecturers. During the poster session, the other "research teams" will pose questions about the merits and methodological problems of their method and how it can be used to study our topic best. Both the presentation and the questioning skills will be taken into consideration for the assessment of this task. Please refer to the assignment description and grading rubric for further information (on canvas).

 

Final Exam: 25%

Due: TBA

There will be a final exam based on the readings and class discussion. It will be a combination of short and long answer questions. There will be a review and more information as the semester progresses.

To be eligible for a passing grade in this class you must complete all of the assigned work.

 

Literature:

Required Readings:

1. Zuckerman, P. 2009. Why are Danes and Swedes so irreligious? Nordic Journal of Religion and Society 22(I): 55-69, 14 pages. 

2. Schjødt, Uffe - The Religious Brain: A general introduction to the experimental neuroscience of religion. Method & Theory in the study of religion. 21(3):310-339, 2009.
3. Krill, A., Platek, S., Goetz, A., Shackelford, T – 2007, Where Evolutionary Psychology meets Cognitive Neuroscience: A Precis to Evolutionary Cognitive Neuroscience. Evolutionary Psychology, Volume 5(1).
4. Yadenm, D. B. 2016. Neuroscience and Religion: Surveying the Field. Mental Religion, Chapter 17, pp. 277-299, 22 pages
5. Saroglou, Vassilis; (2015) Personality and religion. International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2^nd edition, Volume 17.
6. Beit-Hallahmi, B. 2007. Atheists. A psychological profile. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, 300-317.
7. M. 2009. A Brief history of human brain mapping. Trends in neurosciences. Vol.32, Issue 2, pp.118-126. 8 Pages.

1. Beauregard, M. & Paquette, V. 2006. Neural correlates of mystical experiences in Carmelite nuns. Neuroscience Letters, 405, pgs 186-190. 4 Pages. 

2. Cristofori et al. 2015. Neural correlates of mystical experience. Neuropsychologia. 80: 212- 220. 8 Pages.


10. Yadenm, D. B. 2016. Neuroscience and Religion: Surveying the Field. Mental Religion, Chapter 17, pp. 277-299, 22 pages.
11. Borg, Jacqueline, Bengt Andree, Henrik Soderstrom, et al. “The Serotonin System and Spiritual Experience.” Ameri- can Journal of Psychiatry 160 (2003): 1965–1969. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.11.1965.
12. T. 1974. What is It like to be a Bat? The Philosophical review. Vol.83, No.4, pp. 435-450. 15 Pages.
13. Griffiths, R. R. et al. 2008. Mystical-type experiences occasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 22(6), 621-632.
14. Turnbull, Julie, Hannes Lohi, Jennifer A. Kearney, et al. “Sacred Disease Secrets Revealed: The Genetics of Human Epilepsy.” Human Molecular Genetics 14 (2005): 2491–2500. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc /articles/PMC3111397.
15. Newberg, Andrew B., and J. Iversen. “The Neural Basis of the Complex Task of Meditation: Neurotransmitter and Neurochemical Considerations.” Medical Hypotheses 61 (2003): 282–291.

1. Mohandas, E. “Neurobiology of Spirituality.” Mens Sana Monographs 6, 1 (2008): 63–80.
2. Kjaer, Troels W., Camilla Bertelsen, Paola Piccini, et al. “Increased Dopamine Tone During Meditation-Induced Change of Consciousness.” Cognitive Brain Research 13, 2 (2002): 255–259.

18. T.D. 2015. The neuroscience of placebo effects: connecting context, learning and health. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 16. 403-418

 

Optional Readings:

1. Gould and R. C. 1979. Lewontin Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences Vol. 205, No. 1161, The Evolution of Adaptation by Natural Selection, pp. 581-598, 18 pages

1. Emmons, Robert A.; Paloutzian, Raymond F. (2003). "The Psychology of Religion". Annual Review of Psychology. 54: 377–402.

3. F. 2014. Brain Imaging Analysis. Annual review of Statistics and Its Application. Vol. 1:61-85
4. Butler, Paul M., Patrick McNamara, and Raymon Durso. “Deficits in the Automatic Activation of Religious Concepts in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease.” Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society 16 (2010): 252– 261. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1355617709991202.
5. 1995. Facing up to the problem of consciousness. Journal of Consciousness Studies, Vol.2, pp.200-219.
6. Samorini, Giorgio. “The Oldest Representations of Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in the World (Sahara Desert, 9000– 7000 BP).” Integration 2, 3 (1992): 69–78.