Sensing the presence of gods and spirits across cultures and faiths

Bibliographic Data

ID23315919
AuthorsT M Luhrmann (0000-0001-9923-4234, Stanford University, corresponding author), Kara Weisman (0000-0002-3706-7554, Stanford University, corresponding author), Felicity Aulino (0000-0003-1400-6799, Stanford University), Joshua D Brahinsky (Stanford University), Joshua Brahinsky (Stanford University), John C Dulin (Stanford University), John Dulin (Utah Valley University), Vivian A Dzokoto (0000-0002-7668-9962, Virginia Commonwealth University), Cristine H Legare (0000-0002-7838-4396, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712), Michaela Lifshitz (0000-0002-7051-4248, Stanford University), E Ng (0000-0001-6122-9640, Stanford University), Nicole Ross-Zehnder (0000-0001-6148-5775, Stanford University), Rachel Smith (0000-0002-6838-1319, University of Cambridge), Rachel E Smith (0009-0009-6373-1509, Stanford University)
Year2021
Volume118
Issue5
Publication date2021-02-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0027-8424 • E-ISSN: 1091-6490
PublisherNational Academy of Sciences (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1073/pnas.2016649118
PMID33495328
OpenAlexW3125637614
LanguageEN
Citations received58
References cited39

Significance The sensory presence of gods and spirits is central to many of the religions that have shaped human history—in fact, many people of faith report having experienced such events. But these experiences are poorly understood by social scientists and rarely studied empirically. We present a multiple-discipline, multiple-methods program of research involving thousands of people from diverse cultures and religions which demonstrates that two key factors—cultural models of the mind and personal orientations toward the mind—explain why some people are more likely than others to report vivid experiences of gods and spirits. These results demonstrate the power of culture, in combination with individual differences, to shape something as basic as what feels real to the senses.

Aesthetics · Art · Epistemology · Faith · Power (physics) · Sociology · Cultural Differences and Values · Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology

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