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Top-Down Constraints on Religious Perception and Reliability

Van Eyghen,Hans
Abstract
This paper explores how top-down constraints influence religious perception and religious experience and the implications for their reliability. Contemporary cognitive neuroscience highlights that perception is shaped not only by sensory input but also by background beliefs and expectations. Religious perception is no exception. Some argue that the role of top-down constraints casts doubts on the reliability of religious perception. However, this paper contends that such doubts are unwarranted. Supporters of religious perception can argue that background information guides it accurately, making it reliable. The paper also examines whether accepting the reliability of religious experience, shaped by top-down constraints, is more rational than rejecting it.
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Date
2025
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Publisher
Springer
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Tilburg University Research Output Collection
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Citation
Van Eyghen, H 2025, Top-Down Constraints on Religious Perception and Reliability. in S Horvat & P Roszak (eds), Neuroscience of Religion : Integrating Brain, Mind and Beliefs. New Approaches to the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 21, Springer, pp. 143-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-02444-2_9
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14602/103292
License
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess
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