Andrew Newberg

Andrew Newberg (* 1966 in Philadelphia ) is an American neuroscientist and religious scholar . He is a pioneer in the field of neurotheology .

Life

Newberg graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in medicine in 1993 . In the years that followed, he worked at the University Hospital of Pennsylvania, graduating with degrees in internal medicine (1997), nuclear medicine (1998), and nuclear cardiology (1998).

Today Newberg is Professor of Radiology at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Director of the Institute of Neuro- PET Research, and Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania . He was one of the co-founders of the Institute for the Scientific Study of Meditation at the same university. Newberg made studies using imaging techniques on dementia , epilepsy and other neurological and psychiatric disorders. He also examined the neurophysiological processes involved in acupuncture and other alternative forms of therapy. However, his research focus to this day is the brain physiology of spirituality and the neurological activity during religious or mystical experiences.

In 1999 he published his first book The Mystical Mind . He wrote it together with Dr. Eugene D'Aquili (1940–1998), neurobiologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania for 20 years. The book is about the neurological consideration of religious experiences. From the findings of six years of research in the field of so-called Neurotheology the book was Why God Will not Go Away (: In the German version , the imaginary god ). He also wrote this work together with Dr. Eugene D'Aquili. However, D'Aquili died in 1998, before the book was even finished in 2001.

Books

• The Mystical Mind , Augsburg Fortress Publishers 1999, ISBN 978-0-8006-3163-5
• God Thought , Piper 2003, ISBN 978-3-492-24138-0 ; engl. Why God Won't Go Away
• Why We Believe What We Believe , Free Press, 2006, hardcover, ISBN 978-0-7432-7497-5 ; as paperback: Born to Believe , Free Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7432-7498-2
• How God Changes Your Brain , Ballantine Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-345-50341-1

criticism

Newberg's critics, such as B. Friedrich Wilhelm Graf , criticize the narrow experimental basis of his findings and that he is too biased by the idea of ​​localizing the mystical sensations in just one brain area. From the non-religious side, such as B. Scott Atran is criticized that Newberg ultimately does not attribute religion to a pure brain function that was acquired through evolutionary advantages.

Web links

• Website of Andrew Newberg (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ CNN