Bioethics and Religion – Is there a role for faith-based absolutes?

Day: Saturday, April 22   Hour: 9:00 - 9:30 pm

By: Robert Buckman

Every religion enshrines a code of ethics and behavior, prescribing some actions, proscribing others, and it is held as a fundamental truth that those commandments, dictates and prohibitions have been handed down by, or have been blessed by, that religion's God (or gods or divine beings). Despite this, and the universal exhortations not to kill, even a cursory glance at humankind's history shows that acts of widespread cruelty and killing, including wars, murders and genocides, have frequently been inspired by faith, and are carried out in the name of God. Neuroscience research now shows that the perception of a God (or a Sensed Presence) is actually the product of one particular area of the brain (the right temporal lobe). Furthermore, this area has rich connections with the centers that regulate aggression (the amygdales) and studies show that aggression is easily provoked by sensations created in the right temporal lobe. Furthermore, approximately 7% of the general population states that they would kill a person if they genuinely believed that their God told them to do so. The links between our behavior and our beliefs - particularly in regards to the faith-based systems of bioethics on issues such as particularly concerning abortion and euthanasia - will be discussed in this presentation, as will the possibility that we may be able to 'be good without God'. <<Back to Conference program