S.5 #7 | Scientific Method Part I: The science behind the benefits of religion

Inspired by the book "How God Works" I explore the numerous benefits of religion revealed through scientific studies and experienced by religious peoples across the world.

Mentions:

Book "How God Works" by David DeSteno

Quote by Albert Einstein

Transcript

 The scientific method

Some time last year, I heard our rabbi’s wife say that science is just a way for humans to try and figure out how God works, and that it has only recently started to bring to the table that, which has already been known for thousands of years in the Torah. Ever since, I have been very intrigued by this topic and have started doing some research. Today’s episode is inspired by the book “How God Works” and is, I think, a great introduction to what religion has had to offer since its inception and what science has been attempting to replicate in the secular world.

The author of the book David DeSteno, a scientist himself, begins by pointing out how surprising it is that science hasn’t taken up the charge to examine the effects of religion more widely and carefully. Studies upon studies demonstrate that religious practices have tremendous benefits for the human, yet few scientists advocate the integration of science and religion. As DeSteno puts it “I realized that we scientists were discovering many things that others had realized and implemented long ago.”

Only one facet of religion has become mainstream and trendy in the past decade, that of meditation. The benefits of meditation are known to most - it enhances attention, decreases anxiety and stress, and even increases compassionate behavior toward others. Of course all this is no news to the religious, since meditation has been an integral part of any religion for centuries. So the question David DeSteno poses is what other spiritual technologies can scientists bring to the secular world to aid in healing everything from physical to mental to emotional ailments? And this is where it gets exciting for me because I have been studying the soul-body connection for the past few years and I am convinced that religion has all the answers to all of our needs - I’ll focus on health in this episode, but rest assured, the Torah has us covered in all aspects of life. I should mention, too, that the book “How God Works” covers the benefits of several religions, but I will be focusing solely on Judaism because it is closest to my heart and the one that I have been studying and practicing closely.

In his book, DeSteno mentions numerous experiments and studies that reveal the power of religious rituals. One of them is an experiment that demonstrated that performing any type of ritual (even non-religious) before an activity improved people’s self-control. For example, after performing a made-up ritual and then being offered a variety of foods, subjects of the study opted for healthier food options than those who did not perform any ritual. These results, of course, correlate directly to the religious mindfulness and consciousness factor. In Judaism, we perform a myriad of rituals that do just that - keep us mindful and conscious of our choices. Let me give you the most clear example - prayer before food. Prayer is a ritual that meal after meal, helps us not only bless the food (make it pure for our body) but also serves as a reminder that whatever enters our body will either do us good or bad and that since we are instructed by G-d to treat our bodies as temples, it is up to us to make a conscious choice between healthy and unhealthy and between over-indulgence and self-control. As soon as we say the prayer, we are immediately reminded that food is not just for filling our mouths and satisfying our physical hunger, it is more so a means to develop a healthy body and obtain support in order to have the ability to know and to serve G-d. Once you get into the habit of saying a prayer before each meal, you really do begin to eat healthier. I remember someone asked in one of the Torah classes, “if we have to say a prayer every time food or drink touches our lips, wouldn’t we be saying it hundreds of times a day? Seems like overkill.” To this our rabbi had a great answer. He explained that man was designed to eat only 2-3 times a day. Back in the day, people would sit down to eat breakfast and then would leave for the whole day to work, coming back for a sit-down supper or dinner, in which case the blessings would only be said a couple times a day. There was no such thing as snacking, eating on the road, sipping on a coffee throughout the day, this is a very recent phenomenon and is not natural or normal. It’s like we’ve become cows, constantly chewing and chewing, and then people wonder why obesity is an issue. How many times have you snacked on something just because? Just because you were bored or needed to satisfy a craving? Often people turn to food for comfort, they eat their feelings…all this is non-existent in religion. Seriously! I won’t go into detail, but because religion is so holistic, all types of issues are addressed intrinsically when one follows the faith. Personally, ever since I became a practicing Jew, I noticed that food is no longer a crutch for me, I can fast without a problem and I am much more conscious of what I consume. The latter is also due to the fact that I’ve been trying to transition to Kosher eating - meaning no pork, no shellfish and no mixing of dairy and meat. When you have limits as to what you can eat or not, you become a lot, I mean a lot, more conscious of your choices. Honestly, this may sound crazy, but I believe that the reason for the surge in all types of food allergies is a blessing in disguise; it’s like our bodies are telling us - there is too much choice out there, there is a risk of over-eating, over-indulging, which has detrimental effects not only on our bodies but also on our souls! Think about it, back in the day, even when I was growing up as a child in Russia in the 80’s, I had never ever heard of anyone with any type of allergy. Yes, we had very little choice when it came to food, there was not much pre-packaged, ready-to-go food, but this saved us health-wise! Then, I move to the US in the 90’s and the types and quantity of food are endless, AND many kids have food allergies! So if not communism like in the Soviet Union, then food allergies will stop humans from losing self-control. Interestingly enough, my cousins that live in Israel told me that veganism is very in style there right now. Even though half the jews in Israel are secular, many of them end up observing kosher without knowing. 

Again, there is a reason for why religions still exist today and many are thriving. They offer something to the human experience that nothing else can. It may take disaster or a terminal illness for some to turn to religion, but sooner or later most people begin to take note of the thousands of years of wisdom, thought and experience passed down from generation to generation. One thing remains clear: those who regularly take part in religious practices report greater well-being than those who don’t. So let’s delve in! 

I’m going to come back to the trendy term “meditation” once more. Most people think that meditation is synonymous with yoga, buddhism and other eastern philosophies, but this is not so. Meditation exists in other faiths, including Judaism, and does not entail sitting on the floor cross-legged thinking of nothing. Commentaries on the life of Abraham suggest that when he sent his offspring to the East bearing gifts, these gifts included aspects of meditative practices that eventually surfaced in Far Asian spiritual teachings. Abraham’s son Isaac was a meditator; when his bride Rebecca first saw him, he was “meditating in the fields”—and the Biblical accounts of his practice of “digging wells” are understood to signify his delving into the depths of consciousness. Many of the early holy men in Jewish history were shepherds who chose the pastoral lifestyle in order to be able to meditate in the fields. Talmudic sages and mystical Kabbalists had a longstanding tradition to meditate before and during prayer; since the time of the rebbe and healer Baal Shem Tov (he lived in the 1700’s), chassidim (jewish mystics) have carried this legacy forward until the current day. In Judaism, meditation involves harnessing the dynamics of the mind in order to think in a more intentional, less random or accidental manner. There are many forms of meditation. The chassidic practice of hitbonenut meditation involves actively contemplating a spiritual concept until it expands our creative intelligence, deepens our awareness, and becomes an indelible part of our consciousness. Prayer is an advanced form of meditation; yet it is also simple and accessible to all. The Hebrew word for prayer, tefillah, implies connecting to and bonding with one's spiritual source. In fact the prayer book, the siddur, can be seen as a highly sophisticated, structured guide to cultivating our awareness of the presence and the power of G‑d. I bought my first siddur a couple months ago and I try to read and pray every night before going to bed. When I read it, I am concentrated on the text and I feel like I am connecting with G-d. This not only provides for de-stressing and mindfulness, but also sets me up for a good, calm night’s sleep.

Amongst other common and easy rituals that researchers have taken note of is gratitude. Giving thanks to G-d makes people more honest and generous. I’ll address the first part of that statement first - regarding honesty. Religious people believe that G-d is all around, always. You cannot hide from G-d, not even your thoughts. So, consequently, these people behave better in all aspects: they are more honest, they follow the rules more, especially those from the Bible and overall they strive to be model citizens. Some call this G-d fearing, but our rabbi put it a different way, which I prefer. Just like as kids we want to make our parents proud, so too we, as children of G-d, want to make our Father proud. Oftentimes kids will do something bad behind their parents’ back and it’s only a matter of time until the truth comes out. Whether adults understand this metaphor or not doesn’t change the fact that no bad deed goes unpunished. Call it Karma, G-d’s punishment, or simply consequences, the result is the same. This is of course childish behavior and Torah teaches us to grow up by following the commandments that ultimately convert us into righteous human beings. Therefore, religious people understand that there is no use in hiding anything from G-d and this propels them to do more good. Also, instead of fear of G-d, it helps to think of “awe”. Upon the realization that G-d is all-knowing and all-powerful, we feel inspired and humbled.  This helps keep our ego in check, which is known to be the source of many life issues. I have a whole episode on this topic in season 1 titled Overcoming the ego. Religious people understand that everything they have, including non-physical things like health and intelligence is thanks to G-d. In other words, we didn’t choose to be born in a specific body, to a specific family possessing a certain talent, this was decided by G-d, and we are thankful to Him for giving us life and everything that comes with it. This is a very important concept to grasp and one that works wonders. I’ve taught my kids to say thanks every single night before bed for everything good and even bad that transpired throughout the day. In general, counting your blessings is guaranteed to increase the blessings in your life. And in the morning we always thank G-d for giving us a new day, another opportunity to do good and enjoy all that life has to offer. Waking up with this kind of outlook on life is one of the best things we can do for ourselves; it not only puts us in a good mood but sets the tone for the whole day.

 In regards to generosity, it is true too that religious people are generous. It is one of the commandments in Judaism to give to the poor, but every religion promotes giving because it is known that the more you give the more you receive. Religion teaches, too, that God’s love is infinite, and this divine love is all-encompassing - it includes health, wealth, luck…everything a person needs for his well-being. Knowing this, it’s easier to share and to give to the needy because you know there is more where that came from. This concept is important also because by giving, loving and helping our neighbor we can create strong communities. In the age of “I and me, me, me”, it’s the religious communities that are thriving because in religion the focus is never on oneself. I will have a separate episode on this topic, but it’s time we realize that, for instance, help to others is better than self-help, because in helping another a person forgets about his own troubles, just like giving to others is better than giving to yourself because it is in giving that we receive. Our society has been promoting selfishness far too much, it’s all about self-love, self-help, giving yourself time and space, pampering yourself, treating yourself to something special constantly…all this does not lead to internal peace. It may help people feel good for a few minutes or hours but the effect doesn’t last. This kind of self-centered outlook on life doesn’t do anybody any good. Before I became religious, I would hear my Christian friends tell me about how members of their church help each other out all the time. When my friend was sick, she’d tell me, someone from my church brought me soup, or when she needed help on her farm, memebrs of he church would volunteer to take care of the animals. And my other friend would always talk about helping out at the church, helping each other babysit kids, and lead a bible study group. It all sounded really nice to me and I always wondered how people have time to do all this, to volunteer, to spend so much time at the church….well, now that I do myself it’s actually not only easy but also extremely satisfying! Now I volunteer on a regular basis at my synagogue and I love it! If before I felt like I didn’t have time for it, now I see it’s just a matter of priorities. And of course, the more I volunteer and spend time at the synagogue, the more I get to know other members, and the more I feel part of this community, so that if G-d forbid I ever need help with anything, these people will return the favor.

And actually the next point that I am going to look at proves just that - the importance of connecting to others and finding joy and peace in the “We” rather than the “I”. DeSteno goes on in his book to share findings from another study - that rituals such as moving and singing together made people feel more connected and committed to each other. Once again, our day and age does not make it easy for people to find connection with other human beings because of all the technology present in our lives. It’s much easier, of course, to sit on your couch and engage with others through a cell phone, social media, etc., but these connections are not very real and not very satisfying to the human soul. In a world of virtual reality and remote work and study, many people experience loneliness and are depressed because of it. But don’t fret! Religion has us covered! You see, the importance of physical gatherings has been known for thousands of years. The concept of minyan—that there is no public prayer without a gathering of at least 10 Jews—is at least as old as the Babylonian Talmud. The writers of the Talmud believed that, when 10 or more gather for prayer or study, the Shekinah (“spirit of God”) dwells among them. Physical presence of people in contemplation, study, celebration, mourning or spiritually meaningful work is a powerful and essential tool in creating not only thriving communities but also happy individuals. In Judaism, many of the prayers are sung, and when the congregation joins in song, something extra miraculous occurs. When we listen to music, we connect to something beyond ourselves. Just like when we go to a concert where everyone enjoys the same tunes and we feel united with other human beings, the same thing happens during a prayer service, but on a deeper level yet, on the soul level. Judaism teaches that the mouth, the instrument of our bodies, connects the heart with the soul. When we join body with soul, we are complete. Music enables us to create a state where we are in tune with our essential spiritual selves and can feel united with our Creator and all the people around us. In essence, music can be an expression of prayer. Perhaps this is why the Hebrew word for prayer, tefilla, and the word for song, shira have the same numerical equivalent in gematria - the Jewish practice of assigning a numerical value to a word or phrase. I’ll confess, when I am at a prayer service and I hear all beautiful prayers sung by everyone in unison, I tear up. Something inside me moves, it’s a feeling I can’t explain. Perhaps this is the feeling of being elevated that our rabbi speaks to us about. Perhaps G-d is evermore present and with us when we pray in groups. If you’ve never experienced a prayer service, I highly recommend it!

As you can see from what I’ve covered today, the benefits of religion are numerous. But there is still so much more to be covered and I am leaving that for next episode. I am sticking with the same topic but I will explore further the benefits of religion.

If you’re new to religion, I suggest you take it one step at a time. Gradual is always better than rushing in and doing everything right off the bat. It may be too much. The power of rituals is truly amazing, so pick one or two rituals, like prayer before food or reading the Bible a little bit each day, make it a habit, and watch your life slowly take on new meaning and change for the better. Then add more practices when you feel ready. If you know someone that might benefit from hearing this information, please share the episode with them!