Autism and the panoply of religious belief, disbelief and experience

• While the cognitive mechanisms that incline us towards theistic belief in superhuman agents have been well documented over the past twenty-five years, unbelief has not received nearly so much attention. Recent studies however suggest that just as with theistic belief, various psychic mechanisms and processes might incline one toward unbelief, such as a propensity for analytic thinking. It has also been suggested that the connection between atheism and analytic thinking may be mediated by mentalizing constraints in autism. In this essay, we will present and evaluate a few such studies and then consider some additional ideas that we hope will contribute to a fuller understanding of possible approaches to religion and spirituality in autistic individuals.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Psykiatri (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Psychiatry (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Filosofi, etik och religion -- Religionsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Philosophy, Ethics and Religion -- Religious Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Autism

cognition

theism

atheism

theory of mind

Innovative Learning

Innovativt lärande

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