Fascinating Study of Brain Reveals Less Pain Experienced by Believers

"The front right-hand side of [Believers'] brains lit up on the scanner, indicating that the neural mechanisms of pain modulation had been engaged. There was no such brain activity among the atheists, whose pain and anxiety levels stayed roughly the same throughout the experiment."

(United Kingdom)—A new study from the The Oxford Centre For Science Of The Mind has found that having faith in God can actually relieve pain.

The intriguing research involved 12 Roman Catholic Believers and 12 atheists whose brain activity was studied inside an MRI scanner as they received occasional electric shocks on the hand. Each respondent was told to focus on 2 paintings during the experiment—Sassoferrato's 17th Century Virgin Mary and then Leonardo da Vinci's 15th Century Lady With An Ermine.

According to the Telegraph UK article, the Catholics reported feeling "safe," "taken care of" and "calmed down and peaceful." They were also found to have experienced 12 percent less pain than their non-believing counterparts.

Another interesting factor in studying the Believers' brains was that the "front right-hand side of their brains lit up on the scanner, indicating that the neural mechanisms of pain modulation had been engaged."

There was reportedly no such response from the brains of the atheists, and their "pain and anxiety levels stayed roughly the same throughout the experiment."

Rt. Rev. Tom Wright, the Anglican Bishop of Durham, told the Telegraph he was not surprised. "The practice of faith should, and in many cases does, alter the person you are. It can affect the patterns of your brain and your emotions," he said.

To read the full report follow the link provided.