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| Various Sumerian gods, depicted 4,300 years ago. Public domain image. |
About the Author(s)
This website is authored by Dr. Thomas Swan (PhD, University of Otago). Thomas is a New Zealand based psychologist who specializes in the cognitive science of religion. He has published research in scientific journals such as Cognitive Science and The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion.
Thomas would like the site to become a platform for other researchers to reach a wider audience. If you have peer-reviewed research that you would like to publicize, please use the contact form on the home page to request authoring a guest post.
About the Content
This website is dedicated to communicating scientific research about the psychology of religion to a wider audience.
“Are there gods?” is a less interesting question than “why do people believe in gods?” The first question is inscrutable and contentious. The second deals with the human brain, the beliefs and behaviors it generates, and their study in the fields of psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology.
To understand religion is to understand a core part of what makes us human. Some form of belief or intuition about the supernatural has evolved in every human culture. It has inspired ancient literature, epic poetry, monumental art, and mystifying rituals, and it has shaped our history for millennia.
The scientific study of religion will help people to understand the psychological motivations and cognitive biases that give rise to these beliefs and behaviors. Depending on your philosophical outlook, such an understanding could free humanity from the grip of religious ideas or provide a stronger foundation for them.
"We do not know why we are born into the world, but we can try to find out what sort of a world it is." δΈ Edwin Hubble
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