On a recent episode of Super Soul Sunday, Oprah Winfrey told long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad that it's inconsistent for atheists to experience "awe" and "wonder," prompting one of the most awkward conversations about God and faith that you'll ever see.
Think your beliefs preclude you from being influenced by religious thoughts? Think again. Psychologists at Queen's University have demonstrated that test subjects who are primed to think subconsciously about religion — including agnostics and atheists — actually perform better at tasks requiring self-control than…
Does God exist or not? That question may never be answered to everyone's satisfaction — but the question of why people become religious might be. Scientists found a way to meddle with the level of analytical thought people used, and in turn were able to influence the strength of people's religious beliefs.
Obviously, crossing your fingers, knocking on wood, stockpiling four-leaf clovers, and avoiding ladders and/or black cats has no effect on the world, tangible or otherwise. But if superstitions are all in our heads, then how do superstitions affect our minds?
The nature of faith is often a thorny topic for psychology and other sciences to grapple with, but a new study indicates a powerful link between how we think and what we believe. It all goes back to intuition.
