Sausage of Science SoS 253: Josh Brahinsky and The Neuroscience of the Divine
Oct 27, 2025
In this engaging discussion, Josh Brahinsky, a researcher blending anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience, dives deep into the transformative effects of charismatic evangelical worship on the mind and body. He shares insights on how practices like speaking in tongues and prayer reshape sensory experiences and emotional states. Josh contrasts jhāna meditation with expressive worship, revealing their similar impacts on attention and flow. His research highlights the connection between spiritual practices and social activism, emphasizing the profound societal implications of these experiences.
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Neurophenomenology Links Body, Culture, Brain
- Josh Brahinsky uses neurophenomenology to link lived experience, body practice, and brain activity in charismatic prayer studies.
- He argues practices like speaking in tongues show loops between cultural metaphor, bodily submission, and neural deactivation.
MRI With A Pastor Who Could Pray Quietly
- Josh recounts putting a pastor named Siobhan into an MRI to test speaking in tongues and she reported a strong spiritual experience afterward.
- The team scanned 29 people in MRI and later used EEGs to expand the sample to 93 participants.
Match Method To Prayer Style
- To study embodied religious practice, design ecologically valid tasks and accept some data loss from motion artifacts.
- Use EEG for louder, mobile prayer and MRI for quieter, controlled conditions to balance realism and neural precision.
