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Believing in God is bad for your brain
In an analysis of eight experiments, published in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers also found people with faith were more empathetic than those without.
The researchers examined the relationship between the belief in god and measures of analytic thinking and moral concern in eight experiments, each using between 159 and 527 adult participants.
Although both spiritual belief and empathic concern were positively associated with frequency of prayer or meditation, neither were predicted by social contact - such as church dinners - associated with religious affilation.
The researchers said the human brain explores the world using both networks. When presented with a physics problem or ethical dilemma, a healthy brain activates the appropriate network while suppressing the other.
Such suppression may lead to the conflict between science and religion, the researchers added.
"Because the networks suppress each other, they may create two extremes," said Richard Boyatzis, professor of organisational behavior at Case Western Reserve University.
