Why analytical thinking can destroy your faith in God (even if you're devout)

Devout: Analytical thinking can destroy faith in God, the research showed

Analytical thinking can destroy your faith in God, research shows.

A study found that thinking analytically decreases religious belief in the most devout and sceptics alike.

Participants were asked to carry out problem-solving tasks by researchers at the University of British Columbia. The tests included questionnaires in hard to read fonts.



The process was designed to produce 'analytic' thinking. Afterwards, they were then asked about their religious beliefs.

The team found that religious belief decreased when participants engaged in analytic tasks compared to those involved in tasks that did not involve analytic thinking.

Dr Will Gervais, whose findings are published in journal Science, says the study was based on a psychological model of two distinct but related ways of thinking.

One is the intuitive system, which relies on mental shortcuts to yield fast and efficient responses, and the second is the more analytic system that gives more deliberate, reasoned responses.

He said: 'Our goal was to explore the fundamental question of why people believe in a God to different degrees.

'A combination of complex factors influence matters of personal spirituality, and these new findings suggest that the cognitive system related to analytic thoughts is one factor that can influence disbelief.'

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Dr Ara Norenzayan said that religious convictions are shaped by psychological and cultural factors and fluctuate across time and situations.

He said: 'Our study builds on previous research that links religious beliefs to 'intuitive' thinking.

'Our findings suggest that activating the 'analytic' cognitive system in the brain can undermine the 'intuitive' support for religious belief, at least temporarily.'

The study was carried out on 650 individuals in the U.S.