"Faith and the Brain" on PBS Features
HealthCare Chaplaincy

The Rev. George Handzo, HealthCare Chaplaincy's vice president for pastoral care and leadership, was featured recently on the PBS show Religion and Ethics Newsweekly, considered the best TV program on the role of religion and the ethical dimensions related to current news events.

Rev. Handzo was interviewed for the segment "Faith and the Brain" which explored the field of neurotheology to learn if meditation and prayer have a direct impact on the brain.

The report showcased the use of imaging technology at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Spirituality and the Mind to scan the part of the brain that's activated when a patient prays or meditates. That part – the frontal lobes – is where empathy, focus, compassion and reason reside. Dr. Andrew Newberg of the Center has been studying the effects of meditation and prayer for several years and is considered one of the field’s leading experts.

“We’ve learned that being religious or spiritual has a very profound effect on our biology and on our brain,” says Dr. Newberg, “and what we’ve found more recently is that not only does it have a profound influence on who we are, but it actually can change our brain and change ourselves over time.”

Rev. Handzo brings a remarkable perspective to this intersection of science and the spiritual: he was educated first as a geologist at Princeton University, then at the Yale University Divinity School, followed by his distinguished career as a board certified chaplain.

He says, "Faith and science are different realms of knowing. I respect both, but one does not depend on the other. The program asks: 'There are some who argue that certain people are predisposed or hardwired toward transcendent experiences and some are not.' Science may draw one conclusion on this premise of hardwiring, but faith is going to draw another conclusion. Is there a right and wrong? Who knows? Does it matter? Who knows? That’s what makes the world interesting."

The link for the video segment and transcript is: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/july-17-2009/faith-and-the-brain/3597/

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