Cognitive syles and its application to religion

[David]

http://news.sciencemag.org/2012/04/ke...

This article summarizes a line of research that I find interesting. Basically, religious people rely on System 1 thinking compared to non-religious people (e.g. atheists).

Daniel Kahneman had this quote (from the article).
"It's very difficult to distinguish between what a person believes and what they say they believe,"..."All they have shown, and all that can be shown, is that when you're thinking more critically you reject statements that otherwise you would endorse,"..."It tells you that there are some religious beliefs people hold that if they were thinking more critically, they themselves would not endorse."

What do you guys think? Are religious people System 1 thinkers and are non-religious people System 2 thinkers? What implications does it have for religious people? How should religious people respond to this?

[M]

First of all, everybody uses both systems, fast and slow. It's hard to think analytically. And humans are appallingly bad at thinking statistically. I don't think that religious people rely any more on System 1 thinking than anyone else. Atheists are one-issue people: there is no supernatural deity[ies]. They can be marvelously superstitious about other things, though (and still feel superior to religionists).

From all that I've read, and from personal experience, I think that religion, and a belief in God, has only a little to do with belief in a supernatural being, a higher power, and much more to do with belonging, group identity, and the exalted states of awe that can come from singing together and from ritual. If the only issue were belief in a supernatural, all-powerful being, then I think by now there were would be a lot more atheists than there are, at least in this country.

I recommend a book by Jonathan Haidt: The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. It's given me a lot to think about.

Thanks for your post.