MY PERSONAL 鈥渞oad to Damascus鈥� moment came through my TV set. I was 9 years old, and only mildly interested in science, when I caught a repeat of David Attenborough鈥檚 Life on Earth, explaining the basics of evolutionary theory. Perhaps it was the sheer timescales involved, but I remember feeling physically dizzy as my mind slowly expanded to encompass these new ideas.
Should we describe these kinds of epiphanies 鈥� born from science, rather than religion 鈥� as spiritual experiences? That is the conclusion of a new from Jesse Preston at the University of Warwick, UK, and her colleagues.
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The idea isn鈥檛 entirely new. 鈥淲hen we recognize our place in an immensity of light years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual,鈥� wrote Carl Sagan. But there hadn鈥檛 been any experimental work exploring the idea until now.
Preston鈥檚 team was inspired by research linking religious belief to better psychological well-being. One potential mechanism for this is through the emotions that spiritual experiences can inspire: awe, a sense of meaning and the feeling of connection to others, all of which can help to combat stress. It would be unfortunate if atheists and agnostics were excluded from these benefits. Fortunately, that doesn鈥檛 seem to be the case.
The researchers鈥� first step was to develop a psychological scale that examines the emotions elicited by a greater understanding of the physical world. This was done by asking people to rate their agreement with statements such as 鈥渢here is an order to science that transcends human thinking鈥�. They also included a question on 鈥減eak鈥� experiences, those characterised by a state of euphoria 鈥� like the rapture I felt while watching Life on Earth.
Testing the resulting scale on 500 people, the researchers showed 鈥渟pirituality of science鈥� scores to be distinct from related measures, like a general belief in science as a means of rational inquiry. This suggests that the scale could capture the specific emotions otherwise associated with religion. In a further 526 participants, they then proved it could uniquely predict a range of well-being measures. People with higher scores had higher life satisfaction. This, the researchers argue, suggests that finding spirituality in science can provide the 鈥渆xistential support鈥� typically experienced by religious believers.
I hope this work opens the door to many more investigations. Some have hinted that religiosity can lead to better physical health, and I would be interested to see if the spirituality of science can do the same. In the meantime, I would love to hear more about your own experiences 鈥� those moments when new knowledge of yourself or nature blew your mind. Drop me a line on X @d_a_robson.
David Robson is an award-winning science writer and author of The Expectation Effect: How your mindset can聽transform your life
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