Controversial Science study suggests that analytical thinking promotes religious disbelief

Dual-system theories contend that people can process information through System 1 (heuristic reasoning) or System 2 (analytical reasoning). There is evidence suggesting that intuitive cognitive processes facilitate belief in the supernatural. Gervais and Norenzayan (2012) run a series of five studies to examine whether this was also the case for religious beliefs. The authors concluded that “these studies indicate that analytic processing is one factor (presumably among several) that promotes religious disbelief.”

• Read the original Science study.
• Read a critical note published in Nature News