Neuroscience of Religion and AtheismSemester Course

Neuroscience of Religion and Atheism, Semester Course
Major Discipline(s)
Neuroscience, Psychology, Religious Studies
Type
Elective Course
Available
Fall/Spring semester
Credit(s)
3

The course offers a biological and neuro-cognitive approach to explore and debate what neuroscience, psychology, and related fields reveal about the brain’s role in spiritual experiences, religiosity, and atheism. You learn how the ‘religious brain’ is studied and how other psychological and biological studies inform cognitive neuroscientific views of religion. We also discuss the public and social impact of the scientific study of religion.

Main topics covered in the course include:

  • An introduction to the multidisciplinary field of neurotheology
  • Key elements of the functional neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of religious and spiritual experience
  • A survey of developmental approaches to religion
  • An introduction to the neuropsychology of meditation, and to the health benefits associated with meditation practices
  • Cognitive hypotheses about the sources of atheism

Faculty

Mette Bohn Jespersen

DIS Copenhagen Semester Faculty

Neuropsychologist, C. Psych. Master of Psychology with a double major in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Copenhagen, 2015. B.A of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, 2011. Previously I studied Economies and Organizational Psychology at Copenhagen Business School, and I have a background within the field of management and recruitment. I have worked as a clinical psychologist since 2012 providing counselling and therapy to individuals and couples from various backgrounds, and since 2016 I have worked within the field of neuroscience and rehabilitation after acquired brain injury. I have lived several years abroad both in Europe and North America, and I completed my internship as a graduate psychologist in Toronto, CA. I love teaching, and I have taught courses and workshops on several occasions trying to explore all matters within the field of neuroscience and psychology. With DIS since 2022.