22AR27-19

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AR 27:19 - Mindfulness and the suppression of guilt

In this issue:

EDIFICATION - the science behind the benefits of religion

MINDFULNESS - does "mindfulness meditation" decrease feelings of guilt?

Apologia Report 27:19 (1,572)
May 24, 2022

EDIFICATION
What will it be: Working for your God in the temple of your choice, or building a temple that God chooses to work in? -- David DeSteno (professor of psychology, Northeastern University; author, How God Works: The Science Behind the Benefits of Religion <www.bit.ly/3M90CiO> and the host of a podcast of the same name) recently enjoyed the opportunity to write "Does Religion Make People More Ethical?" for the Wall Street Journal (Apr 20 '22). <on.wsj.com/3kZyFy3> (paywalled), alternate URL = www.wsj.com/articles/does-religion-make-people-more-ethical-11650468288

The initial stats that DeSteno provides suggest an affirmative answer to his title's question. He opens: "Do children need religion to grow into good people? Sixty-five percent of Americans think so. <www.bit.ly/3yRG0rx> And even though younger adults have been leaving traditional faiths in droves, about 48% of them still hold this view. The result is a lot of conflicted parents. While they don't necessarily miss going to church, synagogue or mosque, they do worry that without some sort of religious education, their kids might not grow into morally upstanding people." (A better study to consider: how the experience of comfort induces the drift of faith.)

DeSteno then notes that "belief about how religions work doesn't always match reality, particularly when it comes to the question of virtue." His first example <www.bit.ly/3sRDwFR> uses a small sample size to reveal "no differences between people who identified with a religion and those who didn't." He concludes that "the power of religion is more in the doing than in the believing."

In support of this, "Epidemiological research shows that it is people who live their faith, regularly going to services and engaging in their religion's rituals, who tend to live longer, healthier and happier lives." From his perspective, as people increase "rituals and practices that permeate daily life.... They're subtly being nudged toward virtue."

More examples: "A large-scale 2017 study by Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy <www.bit.ly/3ak1SBB> showed that in the U.S., 62% of religiously active households gave to charity [at more than twice the level, and in comparison to how] only 46% of nonreligious households give." Another study showed that "on days when people attend a religious service, they donate more to secular charities when asked." A further study found "Stronger belief in God reduced the odds that people would cheat."

The strength of non-religious input revealed that "When people feel [gratitude], research shows that they become more honest, generous and patient." (Examples abound.) Similarly, "Like gratitude, elevation - the emotion that we feel when we see or read about someone performing a noble act, as often happens during sermons or readings from sacred texts - makes people more moral too."

DeSteno summarizes: "[W]hen people feel gratitude, elevation and compassion more frequently, they become more moral in general." He feels this is in contrast to the common view in which "qualities like honesty or generosity are stable personality traits...." Instead, "scientists now recognize that morality is really more of a moment-to-moment balancing act between competing motives."

With this announcement, DeSteno proudly declares: "it's here that doing religion helps." The "way religion strengthens morality, through cultivating moral feelings, can work equally well in a secular context. ... Meditation at a Buddhist retreat can grow compassion; using a secular meditation app does the same. The key is just to do it frequently." (Surely this discovery can be monetized!)

Please forgive our impulse in using "edification" as the heading for this item. It might be better classified under, perhaps, "morality." Our excuse is that providence appeared too strong this week considering a project on which we're nearing completion here <www.bit.ly/38nbTxh>

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MINDFULNESS

Compare this with the preceding item: "Even if people do so unintentionally, cultivating mindfulness can distract people from their own transgressions and interpersonal obligations, as well as occasionally relax one's moral compass." Once again, meditation research is showing ongoing problematic signs.

"While some have viewed it as a panacea, mindfulness meditation is a specific practice with specific psychological effects. It draws attention to the present moment and away from stressful things in the past and future, reduces negative emotions, and induces calmness. For better or worse, focused breathing mindfulness meditation draws people's focus inward to their own physical sensations and experiences, and away from other people."

Spelled out, the concern grows increasingly valid because "there are many situations in which negative emotions provide useful information that we should listen to and learn from, such as when guilt makes us feel like we need to make amends with someone we have harmed. Normally, the act of apologizing or paying back the person we harmed is what reduces our guilt. But if we 'artificially' reduce that guilt by meditating it away, we may end up with worse relationships, or even fewer relationships. In general, our research cautions people against avoiding all negative emotions or thoughts."

The above comes from an April 16, 2022 PsyPost item <www.bit.ly/3N25iH2> by Eric W. Dolan titled "Mindfulness meditation reduces prosocial reparative behaviors by buffering people against feelings of guilt." He begins: "A series of studies have uncovered a causal relationship between mindfulness meditation and decreased feelings of guilt. ...

"Several studies have found that mindfulness meditation draws people's focus inward and reduces negative emotions. But some negative emotions provide useful social feedback. For example, feelings of guilt help to push individuals to atone for their transgressions against others." Yet "mindfulness can lead to undesirable outcomes by dampening feelings of guilt." The findings have been published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. <www.bit.ly/3N6AqoT>

"'I was interested in doing this research because, after I started studying meditation and meditating myself, I noticed that I was using it as almost a default way of reacting to stressors,' said study author Andrew C. Hafenbrack, an assistant professor at the University of Washington." <www.bit.ly/3N25iH2>

The abstract for "Mindfulness meditation reduces guilt and prosocial reparation" begins: "The present research investigates whether and how mindfulness meditation influences the guilt-driven tendency to repair harm caused to others."

Experiments "showed that induced state mindfulness reduced state guilt ... reduced the willingness to engage in reparative behaviors in normally guilt-inducing situations ... found that guilt mediated the negative effect of mindfulness meditation on prosocial reparation [and] weakened the link between a transgression and reparative behavior, as well as documented the mediating role of guilt over and above other emotions...."

Last, "we found that loving kindness meditation led to significantly more prosocial reparation...." <www.bit.ly/3N6AqoT>

Also see "From Buddhist Practice to Malpractice," Dan Lawton's interview on the IndoctriNation podcast (Apr 30 '22), which explains "the unique way western Buddhism intermingles with science, academia, and government by presenting mindfulness practices as secular and rational despite its religious claims and dogmatic history. Dan and the show's host Rachel Bernstein "break down the defensiveness of the mindfulness communities, pointing out the common reactions people have when their faith is questioned." <www.bit.ly/3lcyvTP> Show notes mention that Lawton has also written about his own adverse experiences from meditation at <www.bit.ly/39NjoO9>

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