The Sanctity of Neuroscience

The horizon shatters.

Ever so slightly at first, the night breaking into a thousand pieces of fractured heaven, flung outward and high across a blanket of green, the velvet glow melted by the shining morning star.

Life gleams.

With the dreary shell of human existence now broken, you see the green of the plains yawning wide, the conifers stirring and opening their arms, and the hills quivering in playful cheer white tops basking in merry.

Mirth abounds.

And peace calls out your name, long drawn and stretched on wispy white clouds, and into this feeling of serenity you enter, the heartstrings of your soul shaking awake that midnight lull.

You coalesce.

Is that what transcendence feels like? And if so, what are the neurological underpinnings of the religious experience? With advancing imaging technology and brain research, the ability to quantify and test how our minds respond to the divine presence of an other is becoming clearer. However, before launching into neurotheology, or the neuroscience of religion, the ethical implications of ongoing research must be addressed. Rapid development of neuroimaging techniques have reignited the age old debate between science and religion. Neuroscience is increasingly being used for speculative arguments…