Science & Health Benefits of Belief in God & Religion | Dr. David DeSteno

DeSteno's lab recruited people who had never meditated. They were randomly assigned to waitlist or to an 8-week meditation program held in a sacred campus space, led by a Buddhist lama who also provided MP3s for home practice. After 8 weeks, participants were individually tested in a waiting-room scenario with a person in pain (confederate on crutches). Only 15% of controls offered their seat; 50% of meditators did. In a separate anger-provocation study, meditators refused to inflict pain on someone who had insulted them, while non-meditators did inflict pain. This suggests meditation builds a generalized compassionate response, not just stress reduction.

DeSteno cites work by Tyler VanderWeele showing that private prayer buffers anxiety and depression in young adults. He explains that formal prayers—like the rosary or Hindu sutras—naturally slow respiration and extend exhalations. This is not a conscious breath exercise but an embedded feature of the practice. The resulting vagal tone increase tells the body it is safe, which then feeds back to the brain, reducing the stress response. This mechanism explains why prayer can be effective even when the person is praying about distressing topics: the body's safety signal overrides the mind's distress.

In DeSteno's coin-flip experiments, participants could lie to get an easier task or more money. When they were required to follow the coin, about 25-30% cheated. After a 5-minute gratitude induction (counting blessings), cheating dropped to 2%. In other studies, gratitude increased helping behavior toward strangers, and the effect was dose-dependent: more gratitude led to more help. DeSteno argues that religions have long used gratitude prayers as a daily practice, which curates emotional states and nudges people toward pro-social behavior from the bottom up.

DeSteno's lab had strangers tap sensors in synchrony or out of sync. Those who tapped in synchrony later reported feeling more connected and were 30% more likely to help a partner in need. They misattributed the bond to prior acquaintance. DeSteno applies this to religious practices: singing, kneeling, and praying in unison during services, and especially during Shiva where a minyan prays together. The synchrony signals 'we are joined,' increasing empathy. When the synchrony is paired with religious messages of compassion, the pro-social effect is even stronger—a synergism of body and belief.

DeSteno uses the Jewish Shiva as a case study. Eulogizing helps consolidate positive memories, which George Bonanno's research identifies as a predictor of successful grieving. Covering mirrors is based on the psychological finding that mirrors amplify emotion; during intense sadness, this would worsen grief. The daily minyan (10 people) praying together creates motor synchrony, increasing compassion and social connection. Additionally, the prohibition on shaving and wearing best clothes reduces self-focus, which emerging research suggests aids grief recovery. DeSteno notes similar elements in Irish wakes (mirror covering, storytelling) and Chinese ancestor worship (ghost money to maintain relationship), showing convergent cultural evolution of effective grief practices.

DeSteno notes that as people age, their values naturally shift toward relationships and service, which are the true sources of happiness. Laura Carstensen's work shows that experimentally inducing young people to contemplate their death temporarily shifts their values in the same direction. Religious traditions embed this practice: Buddhist corpse meditations, the Ash Wednesday reminder 'from dust you came, to dust you shall return,' and the Rosh Hashanah prayer asking 'who will not be here next year?' These are not meant to be morbid but to reorient priorities. When combined with belief in a positive afterlife, death anxiety is further reduced, but even without that belief, the value shift alone improves well-being.

DeSteno's team recruited meditation-naive participants and assigned them to an 8-week course led by a Buddhist lama in a sacred campus space, with home practice via MP3. After 8 weeks, each participant was individually invited to the lab for what they thought was a memory/executive control test. The real experiment occurred in the waiting room: three chairs, two occupied by confederates instructed to ignore a person on crutches wearing a walking boot who entered and whimpered in pain. In the control group, only about 15% offered their seat; in the meditation group, nearly 50% did—a threefold increase. In a separate anger-provocation study, participants were insulted by a confederate and then given a chance to inflict pain. Non-meditators inflicted significant pain; meditators refused to cause any pain, though they still said the insult was wrong and wanted to discuss it. This shows meditation doesn't just calm the mind—it fundamentally alters social behavior toward compassion and away from retribution.

DeSteno explains that when people recite formal prayers—like the rosary, Hindu sutras, or any formulaic prayer—their respiration rate slows and exhalations become longer. This pattern increases vagal tone, reduces heart rate, and signals safety to the brain via afferent vagal pathways. Even if the content of the prayer involves worries or sadness, the physiological state of safety created by the breathing pattern tells the mind 'you're safe,' reducing cortisol and stress. This is distinct from conversational prayer, which doesn't produce the same respiratory pattern. The effect is similar to deliberate breath work practices but is embedded within religious tradition, making it a dual-purpose tool: spiritual connection and physiological calming simultaneously.

In DeSteno's lab, participants were given a coin-flip task where they could lie to get an easier task or more money. In one condition, they were told they must follow the coin; cheating rate was about 25-30%. When participants first spent five minutes counting their blessings (a gratitude induction), cheating dropped to 2%. In other studies, gratitude also increased willingness to help a stranger in need, and the level of gratitude titrated the amount of help given. DeSteno argues that religions curate emotional lives: the most common prayer is gratitude, and frequent gratitude puts the brain in a pro-social state where honesty, patience, and generosity are more likely. This is a bottom-up process—the feeling state changes the brain's value computations below conscious awareness, making cheating less appealing.

In lab experiments, strangers tapped sensors in synchrony (via headphones) or out of sync. Later, one participant needed help to complete a task. Those who had tapped in synchrony reported feeling more connection and compassion, and were 30% more likely to help. When asked why, they invented stories like 'maybe I know them from a class,' unaware that the synchrony itself created the bond. DeSteno links this to religious practices: singing, kneeling, praying in unison during services, and especially during mourning rituals like Shiva where a minyan (10 people) prays together. The motor synchrony signals to the ancient brain that 'we are joined,' increasing empathy. When combined with meaningful religious content (chants that set forth principles), the effect is even larger—a synergism of mind and body.

DeSteno analyzes the Jewish mourning ritual of Shiva. Eulogizing forces the bereaved to recall positive memories, which Bonanno's work shows is crucial for moving through grief. Covering mirrors is another element: psychological research shows that looking in a mirror amplifies whatever emotion you're feeling, so covering mirrors during intense sadness reduces its amplification. Additionally, during Shiva, the community gathers daily for prayers in a minyan (10 people), swaying and reciting in unison—motor synchrony that increases empathy and compassion. There's also a reduction in self-focus (no shaving, no best clothes), which emerging research suggests reduces grief. DeSteno notes similar convergences across cultures: Irish wakes sometimes cover mirrors, Hindu ceremonies do as well, and Chinese ancestor worship with 'ghost money' maintains a continuing relationship with the deceased, combating loneliness. These rituals are not arbitrary; they are 'sophisticated mind-body practices' that address the psychological and physiological needs of grieving.