Why God Won't Go Away - by Andrew Newberg & Eugene G D'Aquili & Vince Rause (Paperback)

About the Book

Researchers Newberg and d'Aquili explore both the mystery and biology of the enduring human need for God, ritual, religion, and spirituality. Based on a long-term investigation of brain function and behavior and on studies conducted using high-tech imagery, this book proves that the religious impulse is rooted in the human brain.

Book Synopsis

Why have we humans always longed to connect with something larger than ourselves? Even today in our technologically advanced age, more than seventy percent of Americans claim to believe in God. Why, in short, won't God go away? In this groundbreaking new book, researchers Andrew Newberg and Eugene d'Aquili offer an explanation that is at once profoundly simple and scientifically precise: The religious impulse is rooted in the biology of the brain.

In Why God Won't Go Away, Newberg and d'Aquili document their pioneering explorations in the field of neurotheology, an emerging discipline dedicated to understanding the complex relationship between spirituality and the brain. Blending cutting-edge science with illuminating insights into the nature of consciousness and spirituality, they bridge faith and reason, mysticism and empirical data. The neurological basis of how the brain identifies the "real" is nothing short of miraculous. This fascinating, eye-opening book dares to explore both the miracle and the biology of our enduring relationship with God.

Review Quotes

"A wonderful assessment of the brain and its activity when God is experienced."
-HERBERT BENSON, M.D.,
President, Mind/Body Medical Institute and
Author of The Relaxation Response

"A THRILLING EXPLORATION . . . Newberg's reverential attitude toward the great unknowns is reminiscent of Einstein's."
-LARRY DOSSEY, M.D.
Author of Reinventing Medicine and Healing Words

About the Author

Andrew B. Newberg, M.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Radiology in the Division of Nuclear Medicine and an instructor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has spent more than six years studying brain physiology and function, with focus on the neurology of religious and mystical experiences. The co-author, with Dr. Eugene d'Aquili, of The Mystical Mind, Dr. Newberg has presented his work at scientific and religious conferences around the world.

Eugene d'Aquili, M.D., Ph.D., was a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania for twenty years. His numerous books include Biogenetic Structuralism; Brain, Symbol and Experience; and The Mystical Mind. Dr. d'Aquili died in August 1998, before the completion of this book.

Vince Rause is a freelance writer and journalist whose stories have appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and many other publications. He is a regular contributor to the Discovery Channel Online.