A standout resource on the emerging field of applying neuropsychology and the latest findings in sleep and dream research to religious experience, this book investigates the proven biological links between REM dreams and religious ideas, covering past and current schools of thought in both the science of dreams and the science of religion.Across time and around the world, billions of people with highly dissimilar backgrounds and cultures have felt spiritual or religious inspiration that shaped their lives and supplemented their mental strength-and in many cases, this inspiration came via a dream. The "how" and "why" of this common phenomenon is one that science has largely failed to explain. In this book, nationally recognized behavioral neuroscientist Patrick McNamara taps the latest science in sleep and dreams as well as neuropsychology to investigate one facet of the answer from the "inside out"-the human brain's role.The first study of its kind in an emerging field, Dreams and Visions: How Religious Ideas Emerge in Sleep and Dreams provides a comprehensive summary of past theory and examines the latest science on dreams, REM sleep, cognitive approaches to religion, and neuroscience approaches to religion. Readers will come away with an in-depth understanding of how and why god beliefs and spiritual convictions so often emerge in our dreams. Dedicated sections address special dream types like visitation dreams, nightmares, precognitive dreams, "big" dreams, lucid dreams, paralysis dreams, twin dreams, and more.

Series ForewordAcknowledgmentsIntroductionCaveatsHistory of the Religion-Dreams LinkChapter 1. Dreams That Appear to Yield Direct Perceptual Evidence of a Spirit RealmNightmaresMeeting One's Double in a Dream/NightmareVisitation Dreams and SpiritsLucid Dreaming and Religious ConsciousnessPrecognitive DreamsFalse Awakenings and Sleep Paralysis DreamsREM ParasomniasChapter 2. The Anthropology of Dreams and ReligionChapter 3. Cognitive Processes in Dreams That Produce Religious IdeasCognitive Processes in Dreams That Give Rise to Religious Ideas: Supernatural Agents (SAs)Cognitive Models of AgencyREM Sleep, Emotional Regulation, and Personality TraitsTheory-of-Mind AttributionsREM, Theory of Mind, and the Default NetworkChapter 4. The Neurobiology of REM Is the Core Neurobiology of Religious ExperiencesPGO Waves and the Orienting Reaction (OR)Psychopharmacology of REM Sleep and the Chemistry of Altered States of ConsciousnessOverlap with Neurobiology of ReligiousnessREM intrusion and DaydreamsREM and the Dopamine SystemsREM-Related Computations of Value and SalienceChapter 5. Why REM Sleep May Be a Highly Sensitive Perceptual SystemA Brief Detour into the SensesWeak Signals in DreamsPrecognitive Dreams ReduxTwin Dreams and Weak SignalsIs the Information We Get in Dreams Reliable?Dreamwork, Creativity, and Religious IdeasChapter 6. Religiosity and Dream RecallNon-Dreamers and ReligiositySleep Disorders and ReligiosityDreams in SchizophreniaAutismDreams in the Subgroup of Patients with Parkinson's Disease Who Report Lower Levels of ReligiosityChapter 7. Implications and ConclusionsReligion, Dreams, and MoralityIs Religion an Adaptation?Creating Individuals Who Can Cooperate Over the Long TermEnter ReligionUniversalityEffortless Acquisition of ReligiousnessSpecific BiologyAppendicesAppendix A: A Quick Tour of the Brain Science Relevant for Religion and REM SleepAppendix B: How Scientists Study REM and NREM DreamsAppendix C: Dream Transcripts across a Single Night of SleepAppendix D: Dream Transcripts Scored for Agency ChangesIndex