The Brain Opioid Theory of Social Attachment (BOTSA): How Religious Rituals Bond Groups of People Together   Leon Turner       The Brain Opioid Theory of Social Attachment (BOTSA) is based upon the strong behavioural and emotional similarities exhibited by those involved in intense, close relationships and those addicted to narcotics. According to BOTSA, social bonding in mammals is underpinned by a crucial psychopharmacological mechanism – The Endorphin System.   While they all have their origin in the brain’s pain control mechanisms, endogenous opioids are involved in a wide range of physiological, behavioural and neurobiological systems including consummatory reward, addiction, sexual activity, mental illness, affective states, memory and learning, digestion, parturition, respiration, appetite and thirst, renal function, temperature regulation, metabolism, immunity and cardiovascular regulation.  

Religion and the Social Brain Summary of Findings and Conclusions Fraser Watts     ISSR has recently completed a research project on Religion and the Social Brain, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust (TRT 0153), looking at the evolution of religion from the perspective of the ‘Social Brain’ theory of human evolution developed by Robin Dunbar. For Social Brain theory, religion is not an incidental feature of human evolution; it is crucial to the success of human evolution. The purpose of this blog is to summarise what we have found.   The theoretical background will be introduced in next month’s blog by Leon Turner on the Brain Opioid Theory of Social Attachment (BOTSA). However, in brief, it is assumed that religion evolved gradually and rather piecemeal; it is

Dear ISSR Member, I hope you had an excellent holiday! I myself enjoyed seeing family and old friends and enjoying snowy walks along Northern Ontario trails. However you spent your time, I trust you are rested and ready for a new year and a new decade. Before I continue, I would like to remind everyone that our newsletter is composed of items that you send to me that you believe would be of interest to the wider ISSR community. Whether this is research projects, position openings, conferences, call for papers, whatever, our community thrives by being engaged in the excellent work you do and the opportunities and news available in the field of science and religion. If you have anything you would like to share for the first

Dear ISSR Member, I first must apologize for the delay in getting this month's blog post sent out. A slight delay was presented to me followed by my engagement with final essays, grading, and invigilating exams. But, I am happy to now get this month's blog posted and made available to you. This month I have the great honour of announcing that Harris Wiseman has contributed a piece for this month's blog. Bringing us insights from his MIT Press book, The Myth of the Moral Brain (2016), Wiseman asks us to think about the theological, moral, and ethical implications of bioethics, and the various ways in which these interact in our social milieu. I had the privilege of listening to Wiseman discuss this book to me directly, and I

Dear all, I hope you are doing well, and that October was a healthy and productive month for you. We have had some exciting initiatives begin, with the new Fellowship nominations coming in and a free book offer (both ending this month--see the last email sent), plus more to come soon. Today, however, I want to introduce our next blog post by William Klemm. Titled, “Neuroscience in the Service of Religion”, Klemm submitted this blog to coincide with the recent launch of his new book, Triune Brain, Triune Mind, Triune Worldview (2019). We think that you will not only enjoy this blog post but also his new book. Because Klemm has included figures and graphics into his post, you will need to access the post via this link:

Greetings all,   First, I have to apologize for the time-gap between our last blog post and this one. We were having website difficulties that were preventing us from doing the work necessary to accomplish basic tasks, however, thanks to our IT team we have now updated and fixed many of the problems that some of you (and myself!) have faced on the website. If you come across any difficulties moving forward, please email me (admin@issr.org.uk) and let me know. We will do our best moving forward to maintain the websites smooth operations. This month is a reflection of our very successful Summer Conference which occurred near the end of July at Eynsham Hall Hotel outside Oxford. Personally, I had a wonderful time and learned many new things---what

Science and Religion: An Introduction for Youth by Holmes Rolston III I myself have thought about how science and religion fit together since I was a teenager. Now in my mid-eighties, I realize that youth today face an unprecedented hinge point in the 45 million centuries of life on Earth. Our species, the so-called wise species, Homo sapiens, is jeopardizing the future of this wonderland home planet. Science and religion are still most important forces in decisions for the crises of the new millennium. But how so?  Isn’t there some novelty in how they relate today? I had written an academic book, mid-career, a critical survey of issues in the field, successful enough to bring me an invitation to give the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh. Could I simplify that book for