ABSTRACT
Neurotheological investigations have as their goal a number of scientific and religious implications. From a scientific perspective, neurotheology has the potential to offer a plethora of useful results and ideas. That neurotheology can advance science is something that can be easily overlooked, but, nonetheless, is critical to neurotheology as a field. Major topics of neuroscience that can be advanced by neurotheology include a deeper understanding of subjective experience and human consciousness; of brain processes and functions; of the mechanisms of interaction between religion and health; of the implications of pastoral care in the health care setting; of the neurological basis of ethics, and of the inherent uncertainty in our brain’s ability to perceive reality. We can consider a number of these topics in some substantial detail since several of these areas have been among the most widely studied in the domain of neurotheology. Taken all together, these topics might be considered to be associated with the “principle of cognitive applicability”—how neurotheology can help us evaluate and improve our cognitive processes and health:
Principle XXXV: Neurotheology should be applied to a wide range of cognitive processes and health related issues.
