{"id":20933,"date":"2001-11-09T16:00:20","date_gmt":"2001-11-09T21:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/?p=20933"},"modified":"2013-10-31T18:06:21","modified_gmt":"2013-10-31T22:06:21","slug":"november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/","title":{"rendered":" Religion and the Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain? What kind of changes take place? In one experiment, brain scans examine the parts of the brain that are activated during prayer. In another, mystical and religious experiences are simulated by using bursts of electrical impulses. These experiments have created no small amount of controversy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain? What kind of changes take place? In one experiment, brain scans examine the parts of the brain that are activated during prayer. In another, mystical and religious experiences are simulated by using bursts of electrical impulses. These experiments have created no small amount of controversy.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/\" class=\"more\">More <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":20935,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[973,1032,982,985,986,17910],"class_list":["post-20933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bioethics","tag-faith","tag-medicine","tag-prayer","tag-science","tag-technology","topics-ethics","topics-faith-and-spirituality","topics-health-and-medicine","faith-christian"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>November 9, 2001 ~ Religion and the Brain | November 9, 2001 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"November 9, 2001 ~ Religion and the Brain | November 9, 2001 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBS.ReligionEthics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2001-11-09T21:00:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-10-31T22:06:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2013\/10\/0510-01-800.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Macey Schiff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionEthics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ReligionEthics\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Macey Schiff\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Macey Schiff\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/307e2f37e4f354613d2d15f94908d9d5\"},\"headline\":\"Religion and the Brain\",\"datePublished\":\"2001-11-09T21:00:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-10-31T22:06:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":62,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/0510-01-800.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bioethics\",\"Faith\",\"Medicine\",\"Prayer\",\"Science\",\"Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/\",\"name\":\"November 9, 2001 ~ Religion and the Brain | November 9, 2001 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/0510-01-800.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2001-11-09T21:00:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-10-31T22:06:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/307e2f37e4f354613d2d15f94908d9d5\"},\"description\":\"When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain?\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/2001\\\/11\\\/09\\\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\\\/20933\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/0510-01-800.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/files\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/0510-01-800.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":450},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly\",\"description\":\"An examination of religion&#039;s role and the ethical dimensions behind top news headlines.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/search-results\\\/?q={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/307e2f37e4f354613d2d15f94908d9d5\",\"name\":\"Macey Schiff\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pbs.org\\\/wnet\\\/religionandethics\\\/author\\\/schiffm\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"November 9, 2001 ~ Religion and the Brain | November 9, 2001 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","description":"When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"November 9, 2001 ~ Religion and the Brain | November 9, 2001 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","og_description":"When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/","og_site_name":"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PBS.ReligionEthics\/","article_published_time":"2001-11-09T21:00:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-10-31T22:06:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":450,"url":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2013\/10\/0510-01-800.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Macey Schiff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionEthics","twitter_site":"@ReligionEthics","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Macey Schiff"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/"},"author":{"name":"Macey Schiff","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/307e2f37e4f354613d2d15f94908d9d5"},"headline":"Religion and the Brain","datePublished":"2001-11-09T21:00:20+00:00","dateModified":"2013-10-31T22:06:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/"},"wordCount":62,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2013\/10\/0510-01-800.jpg","keywords":["Bioethics","Faith","Medicine","Prayer","Science","Technology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/","url":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/","name":"November 9, 2001 ~ Religion and the Brain | November 9, 2001 | Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2013\/10\/0510-01-800.jpg","datePublished":"2001-11-09T21:00:20+00:00","dateModified":"2013-10-31T22:06:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/307e2f37e4f354613d2d15f94908d9d5"},"description":"When a person has a religious experience, what happens within the brain?","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/2001\/11\/09\/november-9-2001-religion-and-the-brain\/20933\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2013\/10\/0510-01-800.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/files\/2013\/10\/0510-01-800.jpg","width":800,"height":450},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/","name":"Religion &amp; Ethics NewsWeekly","description":"An examination of religion&#039;s role and the ethical dimensions behind top news headlines.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/search-results\/?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/#\/schema\/person\/307e2f37e4f354613d2d15f94908d9d5","name":"Macey Schiff","url":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/author\/schiffm\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/religionandethics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}