Modern clinical psychology gathers about it the accessories of science, of the technical and experimentally confirmable, the things we agree to believe that we know. This means brain chemistry and genetics and the squirting of neurotransmitters in that soft organ in our head. All the things that we can point to and say: This is how it works. But also important to our mental health, research shows, is to possess a spiritual or religious belief. 


This may be biting off more than anyone wants to chew. It conjures ideas of religious fundamentalism and some very non-scientific thinking. The brain and the soul do not often share the park bench easily. But there are schools of thought in support of the idea that a person who maintains a kind of spirituality, whether through membership in a religious community or simply by interfacing with nature, will live a longer, happier life. And will be more easily able to deal with those stresses that life regularly offers up.

The Evolution of Faith

It makes sense, if you stop to think about it, that our brains would be wired to find spiritual thoughts peaceful. One of the hallmarks in the evolution of human consciousness is something called the “theory of mind.” The theory of mind is the ability to understand the presence of thoughts and feelings in others, and be able, therefore, to predict actions and so on.

Theory of mind, in the early days of humanity, gave us the ability to understand relate strongly to one another, forging the early bonds of civilization. If you can predict the needs and intentions of others, it becomes that much easier to interact. The continuation of this theory is that we, as humans, were also able to attribute mental qualities to non-humans — to weather cycles, animal behavior, cosmic events. We were able to give these things names. We started calling them gods.

The Importance of Faith

So now, thousands of years later, religions have diversified and spread across the world. Spirituality mingles with every aspect of human life, including, now, psychology, which recognizes its role in living a better life. Simply put, a belief in something (anything!) is all that’s required, as far as reaping the benefits of spirituality. Which benefits include reducing stress and creating a cognitive foundation on which to balance the emotional life. And it sure looks like it’s been this way since we first started thinking about the thoughts of others.

Science and spirituality are not always on good terms. But more and more, the two reconcile their differences in strange and wonderful ways. Which only makes sense, because after all, they’re both seeking the same thing — an understanding of the world.

See what’s behind the obligation of the psychologist at Mark Cella‘s site.