Neuroscience and the Non-Elimination of Theology
Religions February 15, 2026 Paul C. Knox
Neuroscientific findings have been claimed to challenge historic Christian teachings about human nature, particularly the existence of an immaterial soul or mind. In the late 20th century, eliminative materialism—the view that a mature neuroscience would eliminate folk-psychological concepts like beliefs and desires—prompted some Christian scholars to adopt non-reductive physicalism and theological monism, reinterpreting biblical teaching to align with neuroscience. This paper reviews neuroscientific, philosophical, and theological developments to assess the current state of theological anthropology. Contemporary neuroscience, including consciousness studies, has not fulfilled eliminative materialists' predictions, and methodological criticisms (e.g., reproducibility, participant selection) have emerged. This has revived interest in dualism, a traditional theological position, and highlighted the need to rebalance theological and neuroscientific perspectives in understanding the person.