Understanding Biology in Religious Experience: The Biogenetic Structuralist Approach of Eugene d’Aquili and Andrew Newberg

A critical review of Eugene d'Aquili and Andrew Newberg's book The Mystical Mind, which proposes a model of how brain activity gives rise to mystical experiences and examines neurobiological responses to rhythmic behavior in religious ritual. The review discusses the authors' biogenetic structuralist perspective on the biological bases of religious experience, constraints on religious narratives, and implications for reconstructing rituals and myths. It also addresses their proposal for a megatheology appealing to diverse religious worldviews.

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Abstract

What are the biological bases of religious experience? Are there biological constraints upon or determinants of religious narratives and practices? How does understanding the biology of religious experience inform the ongoing reconstruction of religious rituals and myths? In The Mystical Mind, Eugene d’Aquili and Andrew Newberg address these central questions and others from a distinct perspective called biogenetic structuralism. They propose a model of how brain activity gives rise to mystical experiential states, examine how neurobiological responses to rhythmic behavior form religious ritual, and point toward the development of a megatheology, or a theological system appealing to the widest scope of religious world-views. This paper is a critical review of d’Aquili and Newberg's exciting work.