Episode 51: Is Religion Make-Believe? With Neil Van Leeuwen

Data Over Dogma

Data Over Dogma Media, LLC

Society & Culture, History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2024

⏱️ 66 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It doesn't sound very nice, but this week we're asking the question: is religious belief the same as factual knowledge, or is closer to imagination? Cognitive scientist and philosopher Neil Van Leeuwen is here to walk us through the theory he puts forward in his book Religion as Make-Believe A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity. And it is fascinating! Dr. Van Leeuwen dives deep into how our minds relate to the world around us. What distinguishes our understanding of what's in the room next to us from our ideas about who or what controls the universe? Is there a difference between what he calls a "religious credence" that God is present in your life and the factual belief that you're currently sitting on a soft brown sofa? What's going on in our brains when we believe something versus when we know it? Find the book here (or ask your local bookshop to order it for you): https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Neil-Van-Leeuwen/dp/067429033X For early access to an ad-free version of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and an opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at: https://www.patreon.com/DataOverDogma Follow us on the various social media places: https://www.facebook.com/DataOverDogmaPod https://www.twitter.com/data_over_dogma Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	My name is Greg Jackson. I'm a PhD holding historian, a professor, and the
0:04.9	creator of history that doesn't suck. A podcast that makes legit
0:08.1	seriously researched American history come to life through entertaining stories.
0:11.5	Join me for a chronological telling of the United States story.
0:15.0	From the Revolution to Fractious Civil War, tenacious inventors, brave reformers, and more.
0:20.0	With more than 100 episodes, you can already binge listen your way from 1776 to the early 20th century.
0:25.0	Listen to history that doesn't suck on Spotify.
0:28.0	I was sort of vilified by the hardcore atheist as a religious apologist, right?
0:37.0	And when your book is called religion as make-believe, I mean, right? Are there Christians out there like, oh that's going to be really cool?
0:47.3	This is, this works for us.
0:49.4	This is going to be good for us. to the data overdogma podcast where we increase public access to the academic
1:04.4	study of the Bible and religion and combat the spread of misinformation
1:07.8	about the same. How are things today Dan?, it's a lovely spring day.
1:13.3	The birds are chirping, the sun is out,
1:16.7	and we're gonna make some people mad.
1:19.4	What a lovely day, as the great poet once said.
1:25.0	All shiny and chrome.
1:28.0	Okay, so we are very excited today to welcome Neil Van Lewin to the show show or Van Llewin if you're nasty.
1:35.3	Neil thank you for being here. Neil is associate professor of philosophy and
1:40.6	neuroscience at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. philosophy and
1:43.7	neuroscience at Georgia, good old hot Atlanta.
1:46.9	And how are things today, Neil?
	...

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