I have been exploring the relationship between the brain and religious/spiritual phenomena (a field known as neurotheology) for the past 30 years. My neuroimaging research has helped uncover the brain processes involved with practices like meditation and prayer and a broad array of experiences. The origin of this work derives from evolutionary theories about religion and the brain that tie directly into sexuality. The books on this list greatly helped to provide the foundation for the connection between spirituality and sexuality, opening up all kinds of avenues for exploration, including where human morals, societies, political systems, and religions come from with respect to the human mind.
I wrote
Sex, God, and the Brain: How Sexual Pleasure Gave Birth to Religion and a Whole Lot More
I loved this book because it clarified a fundamental concept about how our minds evolved through sexual selection. This idea is strongly connected to my own research, which aims to understand the evolutionary basis of religious and spiritual experiences and how they are connected to sexuality.
By understanding how sexual selection works, we can explore the intricate relationship between sexuality and spirituality.
Evolutionary psychologist geoffrey Miller shows the evolutionary power of sexual choice, and the reason why our ancestors became attracted not only to pretty faces and healthy bodies, but to minds that were witty, articulate, generous, and conscious.
I loved this book because it helped me find the connection between sexual ecstasy and spiritual ecstasy. By showing how the orgasm evolved and is related to brain function, it can help us understand how other profound human experiences are connected to this most basic sexual experience.
Orgasm is one of society's most compelling, shaping forces -- and most of us probably think that we are living in its golden age. But are we? The history of the orgasm is as elusive as orgasm itself can be, for sex rarely makes the historical record. Now acclaimed British journalist Jonathan Margolis delivers the definitive history of the human orgasm, of sex for pleasure as well as conception -- from prehistory to Viagra. Most people manage just twelve minutes of orgasmic bliss per year. Some never experience it at all. Yet the urge for orgasm rules much of human…
I loved this book since it gave an incredible account of the origins of human sexuality. This was essential for my understanding of how and why human sexuality evolved and how it influences so much of everything we do. From this background, we can consider how religious and spiritual experiences connect back to sexuality.
In this controversial, thought-provoking, and brilliant book, renegade thinkers Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha debunk almost everything we know about sex, weaving together convergent, frequently overlooked evidence from anthropology, archaeology, primatology, anatomy, and psychosexuality to show how far from human nature monogamy really is. In "Sex at Dawn", the authors expose the ancient roots of human sexuality while pointing toward a more optimistic future illuminated by our innate capacities for love, cooperation, and generosity.
Although more academic, I loved this book because it provided a crucial connection between religion and sexuality. How and why do religions treat sexuality in their own unique ways? This book explores such questions and helped me to see how religion shapes our views about sexuality and vice versa.
This much-needed volume draws on a wide range of resources and some of the freshest talent in the field to examine debates about theology and sexuality. Material is drawn from a variety of ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary texts to provide readers with a broad perspective on the issues discussed.
Although it is an old book, I loved it because it shows how religions appear to have arisen through worship of the male sex organ—the phallus. Phallic symbols abound in religions, and seeing this relationship helped me to finalize some of my ideas about the overall relationship between sex, God, and the brain.
In this controversial book, Clifford Howard explores the connections between sex, religion, and mythology. Howard argues that many ancient religions, including those of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, were rooted in phallic worship and fertility rites. While some may find his theories offensive or outlandish, Howard's work provides a thought-provoking perspective on the history of religion.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.
This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States,…
My book shows how our religious and spiritual experiences are directly connected to our sexual being. While others have speculated on a connection between religion and sex, Dr. Newberg is the first to demonstrate—with groundbreaking brain scan research—that the underlying biological mechanisms of spirituality and sexuality are essentially the same.
Readers will go on a tour from the earliest evolutionary forces on animal mating rituals to the complex rituals that make up human religious activities. The connection between our sexuality and spirituality helps explain where all types of human rituals come including social, educational, and political. It also helps us understand how religion and spirituality can go bad, causing great harm, or go good, producing profound compassion and understanding.
I’ve always been fascinated by group dynamics, large and small. Why things functioned well, why they didn’t. It’s possible my ability to empathize and use humor as a consensus-builder is the reason I was elected president of a homeowners association, a music production association, and even an agricultural group. Books were not particularly involved in this fascination! But in recent years, experiencing the breakdown of civility and trust in our political and cultural discourse, I’ve taken a more analytical view of the dynamics. These books, in their very different ways, have taught me lessons about life, understanding those with different beliefs, and finding ways to connect and move forward.
We’ve all experienced the overwhelming level of political and social divisiveness in our country. This invisible “virus” of negativity is, in part, the result of the name-calling and heated rhetoric that has become commonplace among commentators and elected leaders alike.
My book provides a clear perspective on the historical and modern-day causes of our nation's divisive state. It then proposes easy-to-understand solutions—an action plan for our elected leaders and citizens as well. Rather than a scholarly treatment of a complex topic, the book challenges us to take the obvious steps required of those living in a free democracy. And it…
Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation
Lyle Greenfield's "Uniting the States of America―A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation" is a work of nonfiction and opinion. Incorporating the lessons of history and the ideas and wisdom of many, it is intended as both an educational resource and a call-to-action for citizens concerned about the politically and culturally divided state of our Union. A situation that has raised alarm for the very future of our democracy.
First, the book clearly identifies the causes of what has become a national crisis of belief in and love for our country. How the divisiveness and hostility rampant in our political…
