I’m guessing this is one of those research findings Otabil would tell his followers to dismiss out of hand.
The brain is a complex network that is constantly in use, but obviously not everyone uses theirs in the same way.
Researchers in the US have carried out a study attempting to find the link between holding religious beliefs and use of critical thinking ability. What they found was that people who hold beliefs in the supernatural tend to suppress their critical thinking abilities.
Carried out by researchers at Case Western University in Ohio, the study noted that the brain uses different parts to process religious beliefs and to carry out critical thinking. The correlation they found was that when people utilise the part for supernatural beliefs more, they suppress the other part linked to critical thinking.
“From what we understand about the brain, the leap of faith to belief in the supernatural amounts to pushing aside the critical/analytical way of thinking” lead researcher Tony Jack said.
It’s not all gloom for the religious though- the study also found that belief in God often came with a more empathetic view towards others. Basically, the more religious you are, the more likely you are to suppress critical thinking and to show empathy towards others.
Researchers conducted eight experiments on participants designed to measure how belief in God associates with analytical thinking and moral concern. They also found that when religious and scientific views come into conflict, the brain structures determine how a person responds to such a scenario.
One more area of the study attempted to look at how some of the greatest scientists have been religious men. In this instance, these people used both parts of the brain equally without feeling the need to suppress one or the other. They saw no conflict between religion and science.
“Many of history’s most famous scientists were spiritual or religious. Those noted individuals were intellectually sophisticated enough to see that there is no need for religion and science to come into conflict.” Jack continues.
“Far from always conflicting with science, under the right circumstances religious belief may positively promote scientific creativity and insight,”
What this paper tells us is that rather than deciding science is an enemy trying to disprove God, when you realise you can compartmentalise your belief in both, you can be a more intellectual person, like all these great scientists. But when you decide they are in conflict, then what you do is you supress critical thinking in order to maintain the fallacy of spiritual certainty.
You can read the full paper here.