REM Sleep Contributes to the Neural Basis of Religious and Spiritual Experiences
March 31, 2026 DOI: 10.4324/9781003158189-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Lucid dreaming |
| Keywords | Heaven Pilgrimage Consciousness Paradise Fell Religious experience Nothing Psychoanalysis Religious studies Content measure theory Christianity Theology Sensibility |
| Key points | Argues that dreams have been integral to religious consciousness and that religions have shaped dream content, with examples from Abrahamic scriptures. |
Abstract
Dreams have always contributed to religious consciousness and religions have always, in turn, shaped dream content (McNamara, 2016; Lanternari, 1975). Many religions began as literally a dream or vision in the mind of the founder. In the holy scriptures of the three Abrahamic Faiths dreams abound, with perhaps the dream called “Jacob’s ladder” being one of the most famous. The patriarch Jacob was traveling, when he came to a place that apparently had been a very ancient pagan dream incubation site. Jacob rested, fell asleep, and then dreamt of a ladder going up to heaven with angels descending and ascending on the ladder. When Jacob awakened, he renamed the site Bethel, and it continues to this day to be a holy pilgrimage site for people who use dreams as a portal to heaven. Another biblical patriarch called Joseph was in fact a specialist in dream interpretation, as was the prophet Daniel. Jesus’s birth was announced via a dream. When Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, he plans to quietly divorce her. But then: Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:20–21
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on lucid dreaming, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Varieties of Lucid Dreaming Experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Neurobiology of Consciousness: Lucid Dreaming Wakes Up | 2009 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| What I make up when I wake up: anti-experience views and narrative fabrication of dreams | 2013 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| New perspectives for the study of lucid dreaming: From brain stimulation to philosophical theories of self-consciousness | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Lucid dreaming: Evidence and methodology | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |