Uncovering the Science of Belief

From Pope Francis to Phil Robertson, who declares that “homosexuality is original sin”: why are some believers generous and righteous, while other believers are fools?

从教皇弗朗西斯一世（Pope Francis）到宣称“同性恋有原罪”的菲尔·罗伯逊（Phil Robertson）：为什么有些教徒慷慨仗义，而另一些教徒是蠢货？​

For me, the most interesting question about religion is not whether God exists, but why so many people believe. There are about 10,000 different religions in the world, each convinced that it alone holds the one and only truth, and hatred of heretics seems to be part of what constitutes faith. Around 1500, the church reformer Martin Luther described Jews as “a brood of vipers.” Over the centuries, Christian hatred of Jews led to persecution of the latter and ultimately to the Holocaust. In 1947, when British India was “partitioned” into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan, more than one million people were slaughtered. Since then, hatred between different faiths has not disappeared. From 2000 to the present, 43% of civil wars have been of a religious nature.

就我而言，宗教最有趣的问题不是神是否存在，而是为什么那么多人信教。世界上有大约10000种不同的宗教，每一种都确信只有自己把持着这世上唯一的真理，憎恨异教徒似乎就是构成信仰的一部分。1500年前后，教会改革者马丁·路德（Martin Luther）把犹太人描述成“一窝毒蛇”。多个世纪以来，基督徒对犹太人的憎恨导致了对后者的迫害，并最终引发了大屠杀。在1947年，当英属印度“分治”成印度教徒的印度和穆斯林的巴基斯坦时，超过100万人被屠杀。自那之后，不同信仰之间的憎恨也没有消失。2000年至今，43%的内战都是属于宗教性质的。​

Nearly 64% of the world’s population are Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, or Hindus. Religious belief is so deeply entrenched. For many years, communism was the only permitted belief in China, and religion was banned because in the Marxist tradition it was regarded as an opiate that poisons the people’s minds. But in 2007, one-third of Chinese people over 16 claimed to have a religious belief. Since this figure was released by the state-controlled media *China Daily*, the real figure is probably at least that high. About 95% of Americans claim to believe in God, 90% pray, 82% believe God can perform miracles, and over 70% believe in an afterlife. Surprisingly, however, only 50% believe in hell, which shows a certain lack of consistency in their faith. In the Netherlands, a more secular country, the proportion of the population with religious belief is also lower. A study conducted in April 2007 showed that over 40 years, the process of secularization (separation of education and religion) in the Netherlands increased from 33% to 61%. More than half of Dutch people doubt the existence of a higher power; they are either agnostics or believe in an unspecified “something.” Only 14% of the population are atheists, the same proportion as Protestants. Catholics are slightly more numerous, at 16%.

全世界有将近64%的人口是天主教徒、基督教新教教徒、伊斯兰教徒或者印度教徒。宗教信仰是如此地根深蒂固。多年以来，共产主义在中国是唯一被允许的信仰，宗教由于在马克思传统中被当作毒害人民群众的精神鸦片而被禁止。但是在2007年，有1/3的16岁以上中国人称自己有宗教信仰。由于这个数据是由国家控制的媒体《中国日报》发布的，真实的数据可能至少有这么高。约有95%的美国人声称自己信神，90%的人会做祈祷，82%的人相信神能创造奇迹，超过70%的人认为死后会有来生。不过令人惊奇的是，只有50%的人相信有地狱，这显示出他们的信仰在某种程度上缺乏一致性。在荷兰这个更加世俗化的国家，有宗教信仰的人口比例也要更低。2007年4月进行的一项研究显示，在40年间，荷兰世俗化（教育与宗教分离）的进程从33%增长到了61%。超过一半的荷兰人怀疑更高级的力量的存在，他们或是不可知论者，或者相信不特定的“某个东西”。只有14%的人口是无神论者，和新教徒的比例一样。天主教徒略微多一些，占16%。

In 2006, at an academic seminar in Istanbul, biological psychiatry professor Herman van Praag, representing the 95% of the US population that believes in religion, tried to convince me that atheism is “abnormal.” “That depends on who you compare yourself with,” I replied. A 1996 survey of American scientists showed that only 39% of scientists believed in religion, much lower than the national average. Among top scientists (defined in this survey as members of the US National Academy of Sciences), only 7% admitted to religious belief. Almost no Nobel laureates are religious. Among eminent scientists who are members of the Royal Society, only 3% are religious. Furthermore, meta-analyses show a correlation between atheism, education level, and IQ. Therefore, the proportion of religious belief varies greatly across different populations, and it is clear that the degree of atheism is correlated with intelligence, education level, academic contribution, and active interest in the natural sciences. There are also differences between scientists in different disciplines: biologists are less likely than physicists to believe in God and an afterlife. Thus, it is less surprising that the majority (78%) of eminent evolutionary biologists surveyed claim to be materialists (i.e., they believe matter is the only reality). Nearly three-quarters of them (72%) regard religion as a social phenomenon that emerged with human evolution. They see religion as part of evolution, not in conflict with it.

2006年，在伊斯坦布尔的一次学术研讨会上，生物精神病学教授赫曼·范·普拉格代表美国的95%的信教人口，试图说服我无神论是“不正常的”。“那得看你拿自己跟谁比，”我回答说。1996年对美国科学家进行的一次调查显示，只有39%的科学家信教，比全国的平均数要小得多。在顶级科学家中（在此次调查中顶级科学家定义为美国科学院院士，只有7%的人承认信教。几乎没有任何诺贝尔奖获得者是宗教徒。身为英国皇家学会成员的杰出科学家中，仅有3%的人是宗教徒。此外，荟萃分析显示无神论、受教育程度、和智商之间具有关联。因此，不同人群的宗教信仰比例有很大的不同，很明显，无神论的程度与智力、受教育程度、学术贡献、和对自然科学的积极兴趣相关。每个学科的科学家之间也有不同：生物学家比物理学家更不容易相信神和来世。因此，参与调查的大部分（78%）杰出进化生物学家声称自己是唯物主义者（即认为物质是唯一的现实）就不那么令人惊奇了。他们之中有接近四分之三的人（72%）认为宗教是随着人类的演化出现的一种社会现象。他们把宗教看成是演化的一部分，而不是与演化相冲突。

Indeed, it seems that religion must provide some evolutionary advantage. The acceptance of religion is determined by spirituality, and twin studies show that spirituality is 50% genetically determined. Spirituality is a trait that everyone possesses to some degree, even if they have no faith. Religion is the local culture’s shaping of our spiritual feelings. Whether or not one believes in religion is certainly not a “free” decision. The environment in which we grow up causes our parents’ religious beliefs to be imprinted on the developing neural circuits of our brains, much like a native language. Chemical messengers such as serotonin affect our degree of spirituality: the number of serotonin receptors in the brain correlates with spirituality scores. Substances that affect serotonin, such as hallucinogens like LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), mescaline (trimethoxyphenethylamine, from the peyote cactus), and psilocybin (from magic mushrooms), can induce mystical and spiritual experiences. Substances that affect the brain’s opioid system can also lead to spiritual experiences.

确实，看起来宗教必然提供了某些进化方面的优势。对宗教的接受是由精神性决定的，而双胞胎研究显示，精神性有50%是遗传决定的。精神性是每个人都或多或少拥有的一种特质，即使他们没有信仰。宗教是本土文化对我们的精神感受的改造。是否信仰宗教，这当然不会是一个“自由”的决定。我们成长的环境，让我们父母的宗教信仰以类似于母语的形式，被刻画于我们发育早期的大脑回路中。像5-羟色胺这样的化学信使会影响我们精神性的程度：大脑中5-羟色胺受体的数量和精神性的评分相关联。能够影响5-羟色胺的物质，比如LSD（麦角酸二乙基酰胺）、麦司卡林（三甲氧苯乙胺，来自乌羽玉仙人掌）、裸盖菇素（来自魔幻菇）等致幻剂能让人产生魔幻性和精神性的体验。能影响大脑的阿片系统的物质，也能引导人产生精神性的体验。

Dean Hamer believes he has discovered the gene that predisposes a person’s degree of spirituality, as he describes in *The God Gene* (2004). However, since that gene may prove to be just one of many genes that play a role, he would have done better to title his book *A God Gene*. The gene in question encodes the VMAT2 (vesicular monoamine transporter 2) protein, which packages chemical messengers (monoamines) in vesicles for transport within nerve fibers, playing a key role in many brain functions.

迪恩·哈默（Dean Hamer）相信他发现了预设人的精神性程度的基因，正如他在《上帝基因》（2004）一书中所描述的。不过，由于那个基因可能会被证明只是起作用的众多基因中的一个，他最好还是把他的书名改成《一个上帝基因》。这个正在被讨论的基因的作用是编码VMAT2（囊泡单胺转运体2）蛋白质，这种蛋白质以囊泡包裹化学信使（单胺）以便其在神经纤维中运输，它对大脑的许多功能都起到了关键作用。

As soon as a child is born, the brain’s religious programming begins. British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is quite right to be outraged by the labels “Christian child, Muslim child, or Jewish child,” because young children have no beliefs of their own; beliefs are imposed on them by their Christian, Muslim, or Jewish parents during a highly impressionable stage. Dawkins correctly points out that society would not tolerate a four-year-old being labeled an atheist, a humanist, or an agnostic, and that people should teach children *how* to think, not *what* to think. Dawkins argues that programmed belief is an evolutionary byproduct. Children immediately and unquestioningly accept warnings and teachings from parents and other authorities, which protects them from danger but also makes young children gullible and indoctrinable. This may explain the widespread tendency for people to retain their parents’ beliefs. Imitation, as the basis of social learning, is an extremely effective mechanism. For imitation, we even have a separate system of mirror neurons. In this way, religious views such as life after death, the reward of 72 virgins in heaven for dying as a martyr, punishment for unbelievers, and the primacy of belief in God over all else are passed down from generation to generation, etched into our neural circuits. We all know from the people around us how difficult it is to shake off ideas instilled in early development.

孩子一出生，他的大脑的宗教编程就开始了。英国进化生物学家理查德·道金斯（Richard Dawkins）对“基督教儿童、穆斯林儿童、或是犹太教儿童”的称呼感到愤怒是很有道理的，因为幼童没有任何自己的信仰，信仰是在他们非常容易受影响的阶段，由他们的基督教、穆斯林或犹太教父母强加给他们的。道金斯正确地指出，社会不会容忍一个四岁的儿童被打上无神论者、人道主义者、或者不可知论者的标签，人们应当教孩子怎样去思考，而不是教他们应该想些什么。道金斯认为，被规划好的信仰是进化的副产物。对于父母和其他权威提出的警告和教导，孩子们会毫无争辩地立即接受，这能保护他们远离危险，也使得幼童容易轻信和被教化。这或许能解释人们保留父母信仰的普遍趋势。作为社会学习的基础，模仿是一种极其有效的机制。为了模仿，我们甚至还有一套独立的镜像神经元系统。通过这种方式，诸如死后有来生、如果作为烈士牺牲就能上天堂并得到72个处女的回报、不信教者会受到惩罚、信神比一切都重要之类的宗教观点也一代代地传承下去，刻画在我们的大脑回路中。我们从周围的那些人身上都能知道，要摆脱从发育早期就被灌输的观念是多么地艰难。

The Evolutionary Advantage of Religion

宗教的进化优势

“Religion is an excellent thing for keeping the common people quiet.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“宗教是让普通百姓闭嘴的好东西”——拿破仑·波拿巴

The evolution of modern humans produced five behavioral traits found in all cultures: language, tool-making, music, art, and religion. Apart from religion, precursors to all these behavioral traits can be found in the animal world. For humans, the evolutionary advantage of religion is obvious.

现代人的进化产生了五种行为学特征，在所有的文化中都有：语言、工具制作、音乐、艺术、和宗教。除了宗教之外，所有这些行为学特征的前身都能在动物世界中找到。而对人类来说，宗教的进化优势是显而易见的。

(1) First, religion binds groups together.

（1）首先，宗教捆绑群体。

Although they have experienced the national diaspora, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust, Jews are still bound together by their faith. For leaders, faith is an excellent tool. As Seneca said: “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.” Religion employs various mechanisms to unite groups.

尽管经历了民族大流散、异端裁判所、和大屠杀，犹太人仍然被他们的信仰联系在一起。对于领导人来说，信仰是极好的工具。正如塞内加（Seneca）所言：“宗教被普通人认为是真，被智者认为是假，被统治者认为是有用的。”宗教运用各种机制让群体团结在一起。

One is to instill the idea that marrying an unbeliever (i.e., a heretic) is a sin. An old Dutch proverb says, “Two faiths in one bed, a demon haunts the dream.” This principle is the same in all religions, accompanied by punishments and warnings. Separating education according to belief makes it easier to reject others, because ignorance breeds contempt.

其一是灌输与无信仰者（即异教徒）通婚是罪恶的观念。有一条古老的荷兰谚语如是说，“两教同床共枕，梦中恶鬼缠身。”这一原则在所有的宗教都一样，伴随着惩罚与警告。依据信仰分隔教育能让人更易于拒绝他人，因为无知能滋生蔑视。

Another is to impose various social rules in the name of God, sometimes accompanied by terrifying threats about the fate of those who violate the rules. For example, one of the Ten Commandments borrows the threat of a curse “to the fourth generation.” In the Old Testament, blasphemy was severely punished, and it remains a capital offense in Pakistan to this day. Threats also made the church rich and powerful. In the Middle Ages, people spent huge sums of money to buy “indulgences” to shorten their time in purgatory. The preacher Johann Tetzel, famous for selling indulgences, is said to have said: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” Until the early twentieth century, Catholic clergy automatically received indulgences of varying amounts as compensation according to their church rank. Threats and intimidation are still effective today. In Colorado, a pastor introduced the concept of a “hell house,” where fundamentalist Christian schools send children to terrify them that if they do not behave, endless punishment awaits them in the afterlife.

另一种是以神的名义施加各种社会规则，有时还伴随着对规则违反者的命运的恐怖威胁。比如十诫中的一条，就借了诅咒的威胁力“祸及四代”。在《旧约》中，亵渎神灵的行为要受到严厉的惩罚，这在巴基斯坦至今仍是死罪。威胁也使教会变得富有而强大。在中世纪，人们花费巨额的财富用来购买“赎罪券”，用以缩短在炼狱中煎熬的时间。据说因贩卖赎罪券而闻名的传教士若望·特次勒（Johann Tetzel）这样说过：“箱中钱币叮当响，灵魂脱狱得解放”。直到上个世纪初，天主教的教士们仍按教会地位自动获得不同额度的赎罪券作为报酬。威胁和恐吓在如今仍然是有效的。在科罗拉多，一位牧师引进了“地狱屋”的观念，原教旨基督徒学校把孩子们送进去，恐吓他们如果不循规蹈矩，那么等待他们的将是来生无尽的惩罚。

A further binding mechanism is to make people identifiable as members of the group. This mechanism can take the form of distinguishing marks, such as black clothes, yarmulkes, crosses, headscarves, or burqas; it can also be physical characteristics, such as circumcision for boys and girls; or knowledge of the Bible, prayers, and rituals. To gain the protection of your companions, you must be able to recognize who belongs to the group. This mechanism is so powerful that it makes attempts to prohibit people from wearing distinguishing jewelry, clothing, or objects like headscarves seem pointless. In American churches, social interaction within the group also brings considerable benefits and plays an important role. For centuries, various faiths have consolidated intimacy within the group by venerating their respective sacred relics. In Chinese and Japanese temples, Buddha’s relics are as numerous as the grains on a cart; and there are so many fragments of the True Cross that Erasmus said they could build a fleet, but none of that matters. The key is that these things allow the group to stick together. More than twenty churches claim to possess the Holy Foreskin of Jesus, with the same intention. (According to Jewish tradition, Jesus was circumcised eight days after birth.) Some theologians believe that Jesus’ foreskin grew back when he ascended to heaven. However, according to the seventeenth-century theologian Leo Allatius, the Holy Foreskin ascended separately and then transformed to form the rings of Saturn.

更进一步的捆绑机制是使人能被识别出是团体的一员。这种机制可以是以区别性标志的形式，像黑衣、圆顶小帽、十字架、头巾、或者罩袍；也可以是肉体上的特征，例如给男孩女孩们进行的割礼；亦或是圣经知识、祷告事项和仪式。为了获得伙伴的保护，你必须要能够认出谁是属于这个群体的。这种机制是如此强大，以至于会让人觉得试图禁止人们佩戴像头巾之类的区别性首饰服饰或物品毫无意义。在美国教会里，群体内部的社会交往也带来相当大的好处并扮演了重要角色。多个世纪以来，各种信仰通过膜拜各自的神圣遗物巩固了群体内部的亲密关系。在中国和日本的寺庙里，佛舍利车载斗量；还有铺天盖地的真十字架碎片，数量多到伊拉斯谟说能用它们造出一支舰队，但这些都无关紧要。关键是这些东西能让群体紧抱成团。有20多家教会声称它们拥有耶稣的圣包皮，其意图也是一样的。（根据犹太传统，耶稣在出生8天时行了割礼）。有些神学家认为耶稣的包皮在他升天时长回去了。然而据17世纪神学家里奥·奥拉提乌斯（Leo Allatius）声称，圣包皮是单独升天的，然后它化身形成了土星的光环。

Finally, most religions have rules encouraging childbirth, which also makes banning contraception a rule. By bearing children and educating them, faith can spread, making the group of believers larger and stronger.

最后，大多数宗教都有鼓励生育的规定，这也使得禁止避孕成为一项规定。通过生育孩子并教化他们，信仰才能得以扩散，让信仰的群体更大更强。

(2) The precepts and taboos that religion imposes on believers have traditional advantages.

（2）宗教施加给信徒的戒律和禁忌具有传统意义上的优势。

In addition to the protection provided by the group, social interactions and customs (such as halal food) also have some health benefits. Even today, multiple studies suggest that religious belief is associated with better mental health, as shown in life satisfaction, better mood, greater happiness, less depression, fewer suicidal tendencies, and fewer addictive behaviors. However, the causal relationship of these correlations has not been proven, and the connection between them is not certain. Moreover, only the incidence of depression in women decreases. Men who attend church regularly are actually more prone to depression. A study in Israel showed that, completely contrary to the researchers’ hypothesis, the risk of developing dementia after living a religious life for 35 years is twice the normal rate. Other studies have shown a positive correlation between prayer and psychiatric problems.

除了群体提供的保护之外，社会交往和习俗（比如清真食品）也有一些健康方面的益处。甚至在当今，多种研究暗示宗教信仰和更好的精神健康状况有关，这显示在对生活的满足感、更好的情绪、更大的幸福感、更少的抑郁症、更少的自杀倾向、和更少的成瘾行为方面。但是这些相关性的因果关系并没有被证明，它们之间的联系也不是确定的。而且只有女性的抑郁症发病率会减少。规律性地去教堂的男性实际上更容易患上抑郁。以色列一项研究显示，与研究人员的假设完全相反，以宗教方式生活35年后变痴呆的风险是正常情况的两倍。还有研究显示祈祷和精神病问题呈正相关。

(3) Religious believers can seek comfort and help in difficult times.

（3）有宗教信仰者可以在困难时刻寻求到慰藉和帮助。

Conversely, atheists receive no help from God and must solve their difficulties on their own. Believers can also comfort themselves with the idea that “God must have a purpose in making them suffer.” In other words, they consider their predicament a test or punishment, something meaningful. “Because people do things with a purpose, they assume that God’s actions also have a purpose,” said Spinoza. He concluded that people believe in a personal God because humans assume that everything around them is created by a being who governs nature for human use. Therefore, they believe that all disasters, such as earthquakes, accidents, volcanic eruptions, epidemics, and floods, are punishments inflicted by that being. Spinoza believed that religion is a desperate act to avoid God’s wrath.

反之，无神论者得不到神的帮助只能自行解决困难。信徒们还可以用“上帝让他们经历苦难一定是有目的的”这样的想法来自我安慰。换句话说，他们认为自己的困境是一次考验或者惩罚，是具有某种意义的。“因为人们自己做事情时是怀有某种目的，所以他们假定神的行为也具有目的性，”斯宾诺莎说。他总结出人们之所以信仰人格化的神是因为人类会假定周围的所有事物，都是由一个掌管自然的存在为了让人类使用而创造出来的。所以他们认为所有的灾害，比如地震、事故、火山爆发、传染病、洪水，都是那个存在施加的惩罚。斯宾诺莎认为，宗教是为避开神的愤怒而做出的绝望之举。

(4) God can be used to explain all unknowns.

（4）神可以用来解答一切未知。

Faith can make you optimistic (“I sing joyfully / firm and strong as a friend of Jesus”). Faith can also give you a promise that even if the present is full of suffering, the afterlife will certainly be better. Strangely, religious believers always claim that faith adds “meaning” to their lives, as if they could not live meaningfully without divine intervention.

信仰能让你乐观（“我欢声歌唱/与耶稣为友我坚定雄壮”）。信仰还能给你一种允诺，即使现在苦难重重，来生一定会更好。奇怪的是，宗教信徒总是声称信仰为他们的生活增添了“意义”，就好像没有神的介入他们就没法儿活得有意义一样。

(5) Another advantage of religion seems to be that it can keep people away from the fear of death.

（5）宗教的另一个优势，似乎能让人们远离对死亡的恐惧。

All religions promise an afterlife. Belief in an afterlife can be traced back a hundred thousand years. We can see this from the items found in tombs—food, water, tools, hunting weapons, and toys. Cro-Magnons also buried large amounts of jewelry with the dead, just as Asians still do today. You need to be well-dressed in the next life too. But being religious does not always make people unafraid of death. Moderately religious people are more afraid of death than fanatical believers and those who believe only slightly, which is understandable when you recognize how frequently religion uses fear as a means to bind its followers. Many people feel a little uncertain about the afterlife promised by religion. Richard Dawkins’ question is reasonable: “If they are sincere, shouldn’t they all be like the Abbot of Ampleforth? When Cardinal Basil Hume told him he was about to die, the abbot was happy for him: ‘Congratulations! This is good news. I wish I could go with you.’”

所有的宗教都允诺死后有来生。对来生的信仰可以追溯到十万年以前。我们可以从墓穴中发现的物品——那些食物、水、工具、狩猎的武器、和玩具——中窥见一斑。克罗马侬人还会将大量的珠宝首饰与逝者同葬，就像亚洲人至今仍然保留的习俗一样。下辈子你也要衣着光鲜。但是信教并不总是让人不畏惧死亡。中等程度信教的人要比狂热的信徒和只是稍微相信一点点的人更怕死，当你认识到宗教是多么频繁地使用恐惧作为束缚信徒的手段时，这一点就可以理解了。许多人对宗教允诺的死后来生感到有那么一点儿不确定。理查德·道金斯的疑问是有道理的：“如果他们是诚心诚意的，那他们不是都应该像安普福斯修道院院长那样吗？当巴希尔·休谟枢机（Cardinal Basil Hume）告诉他自己快要死了的时候，院长为他感到高兴：‘祝贺你！这是个好消息。我希望我能和你同去。’”

(6) Religion has always had a very important attribute: allowing the slaughter of other groups in the name of one’s own god.

（6）宗教一直以来都有一个非常重要的属性，就是允许以自己的神的名义屠戮其他群体。

This characteristic combines aggression, groups distinguishable by belief, and discrimination against others, and its evolutionary advantage is obvious. For millions of years, humans developed in an environment where food was only sufficient for their own group. Any other group encountered on the steppe posed a deadly threat and had to be destroyed. These evolutionary traits of aggression and tribalism cannot be eliminated after just a few generations of central heating. This also explains why xenophobia is still prevalent in our society. The world is full of conflicts between groups of different faiths. Since ancient times, the “peace of God” has been imposed on others with sword and fire. This situation is unlikely to change quickly.

这个特性结合了侵略、可根据信仰区分的群体、和对他人的歧视，其进化优势是显而易见的。数百万年来，人类一直在一个食物只够供给自己族群的环境中发展。在草原上遭遇到的任何其他族群都会带来致命威胁，必须毁灭他们。侵略和部落主义这些进化特征不是过了几代集中供暖的生活就能消除的。这也解释了为什么排外情绪在我们的社会依然普遍存在。整个世界充满着不同信仰的群体之间的冲突。自古以来，“神的和平”就是以剑与火的形式施加于他人之身。这种状况不可能很快得到改变。

Belonging to a group brings many advantages, even though it comes at a cost. The protection provided by a group increases an individual’s chances of survival when confronting other groups. But the harm caused by religion—mostly to outsiders, but also to group members themselves—is enormous. Although it seems this situation may not last forever. A study by British politician Evan Luard shows that since the Middle Ages, the nature of war has changed, with wars gradually becoming shorter in duration and fewer in number. So we may be cautiously optimistic about this. In a society of economic and information globalization, the evolutionary advantages of religion in binding populations together and in aggression to eliminate outsiders will no longer exist; these two characteristics will become much less important over the course of centuries. In this way, freed from the shackles of outdated religious precepts, true freedom and humanity will become possible for all people, regardless of what they believe—or whether they believe at all.

从属于一个团体会带来许多优势，尽管要付出代价。团体提供的保护使得个体在对抗其他群体时能提高生存的机会。但是宗教造成的损害——大部分是对外人，也对群体成员本身——是巨大的。虽然看起来这种状况不会一直持续下去。英国政治家伊凡·卢瓦德（Evan Luard）的一项研究显示，自中世纪以来，战争的性质发生了改变，持续时间逐渐缩短，数量也在减少。因此我们或许能对此抱以谨慎乐观的态度。在一个经济和信息全球化的社会，宗教在捆绑种群和侵略以消灭外人方面的进化优势将不复存在，这两种特性在千百年后会变得不怎么重要了。通过这种方式，从过时的宗教戒律的束缚中解脱出来，真正的自由和人道对所有人都将成为可能，不论他们信仰什么——或者压根没有信仰。

The believing brain

信教的大脑

“Human excitement can be achieved through tea, tobacco, opium, whiskey, and religion.” —George Bernard Shaw

“人的兴奋情绪能通过茶、烟草、鸦片、威士忌、和宗教实现。”——乔治·萧伯纳

Spiritual experiences cause changes in brain activity, which is logical and neither proves nor disproves the existence of God. After all, everything we do, think, and experience causes such changes. Such findings merely increase our understanding of the various brain structures and systems that play a role in both “normal” religious experiences and those caused by certain neurological or mental disorders.

精神性的体验会导致大脑活动的变化，这是符合逻辑的，既不会证明也不会证伪神的存在。毕竟我们所做、所想、所体验的每件事都会引起这类变化。这类发现仅仅只能增加我们对大脑各种结构和系统的理解，这些结构和系统在“正常的”宗教体验和某种神经或精神失常所导致的宗教体验之中，都起到了作用。

Functional scans of Japanese monks show that different types of meditation stimulate different brain regions, namely parts of the prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex. Religious belief is also associated with reduced activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), as is political conservatism. Although the causal relationship of this association is unclear, it is interesting to contrast that proactive behavior is associated with increased ACC activity. Carmelite nuns, when experiencing mystical states of union with God, show dramatic changes in their EEGs. In such states, people may also feel as if they have found ultimate truth, lose all sense of time and space, achieve harmony with humanity and the universe, and be filled with peace, joy, and infinite love. Neuropharmacological research shows that activation of the dopamine reward system plays a key role in such experiences. This is also instructive for some brain diseases. For example, Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a gradual loss of religious interest. The slower the disease progresses, the less the patient is influenced by religion and spirituality. Conversely, religious fanaticism is associated with frontotemporal dementia, mania, obsessive-compulsive behavior, schizophrenia, and temporal lobe epilepsy. These types of mental disorders are known to make the dopamine reward system more active.

对日本和尚的功能性扫描显示，不同种类的冥想会刺激不同的大脑区域，也就是前额叶皮层和顶叶皮层部分。宗教信仰还和前扣带皮层（ACC）活动的减少有关，政治保守主义也是一样。尽管这种关联的因果关系并不明确，而与之相对比有趣的是，积极主动的行为和ACC的活动增加有关。加尔默罗修女们在经历与神单独相处的神秘体验时，脑电图显示出剧烈的变化。在这种状态下，人们可能还会感觉好像自己找到了终极的真理、失去了所有的时间和空间感、与人类和宇宙达成和谐、被平静欢乐和无限的爱充满。神经药理学研究显示，在这类体验中，多巴胺奖赏系统的激活起到了关键的作用。这对于一些大脑的疾病也是有指导意义的。比如，阿兹海默症与逐渐失去宗教兴趣有关联。那些病情进展越缓慢的病人，受到宗教和精神的影响越小。与之相反，对宗教的狂信与额颞叶痴呆、疯狂、强迫症行为、精神分裂症，以及颞叶癫痫有关。已知这一类精神失常会导致多巴胺奖赏系统更加活跃。

During functional scans, Carmelite nuns were asked to recall their most mystical Christian experiences. The scans showed complex patterns of activation in various parts of the brain. Activation occurred in (1) the medial temporal lobe, possibly related to the feeling of union with God (this area is also activated in temporal lobe epilepsy, which can sometimes produce intense religious experiences); (2) the caudate nucleus (an area processing emotion), possibly related to feelings of joy and infinite love; (3) the brainstem, insular cortex, and prefrontal cortex, possibly related to the bodily and autonomic responses accompanying these emotions and cortical awareness. Finally, the parietal cortex was also activated, possibly related to changes in the perception of one’s own body, similar to near-death experiences.

在进行功能性扫描时，加尔默罗修女被要求回忆她们最神秘的基督教体验。扫描显示出大脑各个部位复杂的激活模式。激活发生在（1）颞叶中央，可能和与神单独相处的感觉有关（这个区域在颞叶癫痫是也会被激活，有时会导致产生强烈的宗教体验）；（2）尾状核（处理感情的区域），可能和欢乐和无限的爱的感觉有关；（3）脑干、岛叶皮层、前额叶皮层，可能和随着这些情感和皮层意识而产生的身体与自主反应有关。最后，顶叶皮层也被激活，可能与类似濒死体验的对自己身体感觉的变化有关。

Spiritual experiences and pathological symptoms are sometimes difficult to distinguish. The former can spiral out of control, leading to mental illness. Intense religious experiences can occasionally trigger brief psychotic episodes. Paul Verspeek, while hosting a radio show on Boxing Day 2005, asked a psychiatrist: if Jesus returned to Earth, how would we recognize him? How to distinguish Christ himself from a mentally ill person who claims to be Christ? The psychiatrist was stumped. In the 1960s, the popularity of meditation and psychedelic drugs caused many people to develop mental problems. They could not control their spiritual experiences, leading to psychological, social, and occupational dysfunction. However, in some cultures and religions, voluntary practices of meditation, trance, depersonalization, and derealization are common and cannot be considered symptoms of mental illness. Things classified as fraud and absurdity in Western culture, such as magic, witchcraft, and sorcery, are considered normal in other cultures. Some cultures also regard religious visions and auditory hallucinations (such as seeing the Virgin Mary or hearing the voice of God) as normal religious experiences. Nevertheless, a large proportion of mentally ill patients are religious, because their condition often promotes their interest in spiritual experiences. Many people also use religion as a means of coping with mental illness. Therefore, issues related to religion always need to consider what is considered “normal” in a particular era or cultural environment. Only in this way can “pure” religion be distinguished from spiritual problems and neurological or mental disorders.

精神性体验和病理症状有时很难区分。前者可能失去控制，导致心理疾病。强烈的宗教体验偶尔会引发短暂的精神错乱。保罗·沃斯比克（Paul Verspeek）在主持2005年节礼日（圣诞节后的第一个工作日）的一个广播秀节目时问精神病学家，如果耶稣回到地球，怎样认出他来？怎样区分基督本人和自称为基督的精神病人？精神病学家被难住了。在二十世纪六十年代，冥想和迷幻药的流行使得许多人出现了精神问题。他们不能控制自己的精神性体验，从而导致了心理的、社会的和职业的功能失常。然而在一些文化和宗教中，自愿地进行冥想、恍惚、人格解体、和现实感丧失的行为是很普遍的，不能被视为精神失常的症状。一些在西方文化中被归为诈骗和荒诞一类的东西，比如魔术、巫术、妖术，在其他的文化中也被认为是正常的。有些文化还把宗教性质的幻视和幻听（比如看到圣母玛利亚和听到上帝的声音）当做正常的宗教体验。尽管如此，还是有很大一部分精神错乱的病人是宗教徒，因为他们的状况往往会促进他们对精神性体验的兴趣。许多人也把宗教作为处理精神失常状况的手段。因此，与宗教有关的问题总是需要考虑到，在特定的时代或是文化环境中，什么被认为是“正常”。只有通过这种方式才能把“纯粹的”宗教与精神性问题和神经病或精神问题区分开来。

(Author: D.F. Swaab, excerpted from *We Are Our Brains*, http://www.salon.com)

（作者：D.F. SWAAB，节选自《我们是我们的大脑》，http://www.salon.com）

Online editor: Jia Fei

网络编辑：嘉扉