Shamanism as the Original Neurotheology

Summary

Shamanic practices, found universally in hunter-gatherer societies, reflect underlying neurological processes and brain structures. This article argues that core shamanic elements—animism, soul flight, animal spirits, and death-and-rebirth experiences—arise from innate brain modules and neurognostic structures. The shamanic paradigm offers a biopsychosocial framework that explains the biological basis of spiritual experiences, bridging scientific and religious perspectives and contributing to neurotheology and evolutionary theology.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Neurotheological approaches provide an important bridge between scientific and religious perspectives. These approaches have, however, generally neglected the implications of a primordial form of spiritual healing—shamanism. Cross-cultural studies estab- lish the universality of shamanic practices in hunter-gatherer societ- ies around the world and across time. These universal principles of shamanism reflect underlying neurological processes and provide a basis for an evolutionary theology. The shamanic paradigm involves basic brain processes, neurognostic structures, and innate brain mod- ules. This approach reveals that universals of shamanism such as animism, totemism, soul flight, animal spirits, and death-and-rebirth experiences reflect fundamental brain operations and structures of consciousness. The shamanic paradigm can contribute to a recon- ciliation of scientific and religious perspectives by providing a uni- versalistic biopsychosocial framework that explicates the biological underpinnings of spiritual experiences and practices and provides a basis for neurotheology and evolutionary theology approaches.

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