Neural network involvement for religious experiences in worship measured by EEG microstate analysis

ABSTRACT

Not much is known about large-scale brain activation patterns in religious states of mind and previous studies have not set an emphasis on experience. The present study investigated the phenomenon of religious experiences through microstate analysis, and it was the first neurocognitive research to tackle the dimension of experience directly. Hence, a total of 60 evangelical Christians participated in an experiment where they were asked to engage in worship and try to connect with God. With a bar slider, people were able to continuously rate how strongly they sensed God’s presence at any given moment. A selection of songs was used to help in the induction of the desired experience. With 64 electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, the brain activity was assessed and analyzed with five clusters of microstate classes. First, we hypothesized that the neural network for multisensory integration was involved in the religious experience. Second, we hypothesized that the same was true for the Default Mode Network (DMN). Our results suggested an association between the auditory network and the religious experience, and an association with the salience network as well as with the DMN. No associations with the network thought to be involved with multisensory integration was detected.

KEYWORDS:

• EEG
• microstates
• religious experience
• phenomenology
• worship

Acknowledgments

We thank all our participants who were willing to be a part of a study that touches on a subject so intimate to many of them. Their collaboration cannot be taken for granted and is much appreciated.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2022.2083228

Notes

¹ Since usually an academic study by virtue remains neutral on the question of a deity’s existence, all references to God in this article are referring to the emic concepts of the respective believers.

² The responsible Swiss ethics committee is the one located in the Canton of Bern, meaning that the approval was provided by the Cantonal Bernese Ethics Committee (KEK Bern). Project ID number: 2021–00022.

³ For the Rg condition, the song Reckless Love by Cory Asbury (2017, Bethel Music) was selected.

⁴ For the Sg condition, the song Lose You To Love Me by Selena Gomez (2019, Interscope Records) was selected.

⁵ For the S12 condition, the song Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schönberg (1874–1951, Op.21: No. 1–4, Mondestrunken, Columbine, Der Dandy, eine blasse Wäscherin) was selected.

⁶ The hierarchical multilevel analysis for the contribution only used MS 1 and MS 5 as covariate input variables due to the fact that all microstates add up to 100% of the contribution and cannot therefore be mathematically computed in one single mixed model. Since MS 1 and 5 were relevant in duration and occurrence, the model tested their effects on contribution.

Additional information

Funding

This study was fully financed by the academic institutions of the respective authors.