Science & Health Benefits of Belief in God & Religion | Dr. David DeSteno

Huberman Lab

Scicomm Media

Science, Health & Fitness, Life Sciences

4.8 • 26.2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 August 2025

⏱️ 144 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

My guest is Dr. David DeSteno, PhD, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University. We discuss science, God and religion, including what science can and can’t reveal about the existence of God and where religious faith and science do and do not align. We also discuss why questions about life’s origins, miracles and the afterlife have persisted across time. Dr. DeSteno explains how religious rituals cause meaningful improvements in mental and physical health and how prayer and gratitude can markedly reduce stress, increase honesty and compassion and buffer against loneliness and despair. Finally, we explore what distinguishes religions and mission-based communities from cults, and we discuss the role that communities such as 12-step and Burning Man play in modern life. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman Our Place: https://fromourplace.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Eight Sleep: https://eightsleep.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00) David DeSteno (02:10) Science & Belief in God, Does God Exist? (07:06) Universe Origins & Scientific Questions; Religion & Life/Health Benefits (15:16) Sponsors: Our Place & LMNT (18:23) Russell's Teapot, Overbelief, Faith; Religio-prospecting, Traditional Practices (26:49) Mediation & Compassion, Prayer & Stress Relief, Tools: Meditation, Prayer (34:40) Superstition, Prayers & Rituals; Mourning Rituals, Eulogies, Shiva, Connection (43:58) Grieving & Different Religious Traditions (47:15) Sponsors: AG1 & Eight Sleep (50:12) God vs Religion?; Prayer, Community, Religious Rituals & Ideals (56:17) Psychedelics, Ego Death, Right vs Left-Handed Roots (01:01:24) Good & Evil; Lies & Cheating; Gratitude & Prayer (01:11:03) Loneliness, Community & Religion, Relationship with God & 3AM Friend (01:16:25) Sponsor: Function (01:18:12) Feeling God; Intelligent Design, Evolution, Eye; Awe (01:25:21) Overwhelm & Spiritual Experiences, Awe Despite Understanding (01:31:01) Fear of Death, Afterlife, Tool: Contemplating Death (01:37:11) Time Perception, Connectedness, Traditional Practices (01:42:53) Addiction; 12-Step Programs & Surrender to a Higher Power (01:49:02) New Religions, Burning Man, Modern Spiritual Experiences, Cults (01:58:06) Cults vs Religions, Religious Interpretation & Reorientation (02:03:56) AI, Technology, Religion & Intelligence; Religious Branding (02:11:05) Religion Figures & Flaws, Direct Experience of God (02:15:13) Finding a Belief System, Embracing Religious Practices, Tool: Sampling Religions (02:21:40) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Follow & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Protocols Book, Social Media, Neural Network Newsletter Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Huberman Lab podcast, where we discuss science and science-based tools for everyday life.
0:08.8	I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.
0:15.4	My guest today is Dr. David Desteno. Dr. David Desteno is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University
0:21.6	and an expert on the science of morality, religion, and the health benefits of belief in God and religion.
0:27.6	Many people, perhaps most people actually, view science and religion as mutually exclusive.
0:33.6	Today, Dr. Desteno explains why that view is actually incorrect, and he also shares the data showing that religion and prayer have tremendous mental and physical benefits.
0:42.3	We discuss the brain mechanisms that often lead people to embrace faith in God and religion.
0:47.3	And we attempt to tackle some of the big questions that often come up around science and religion.
0:51.3	For instance, can the existence of God actually be proven? Can
0:54.9	it be disproven? If not, how should we think about miracles, the origin of life, and the afterlife?
1:00.6	So small questions like that. We also discuss where the line between rituals and suspicions
1:05.4	resides and what distinguishes religions from cults. He also shares that despite the fact
1:10.3	that more than a 100 new religion surface every
1:12.4	year, that was surprising to me, very few are able to last.
1:16.5	That was not surprising.
1:18.0	He also shares amazing data on when and how people lie for personal gain and the simple
1:22.4	practices that convert liars into truth tellers and that make people more empathic overall.
1:28.1	To be clear, Dr. Desteno is not promoting religion.
1:30.7	He's a scientist and his approach is to study
1:32.8	in an unbiased way how belief in God
1:35.2	and religious practices can benefit individuals and groups.
1:38.3	Thanks to him, it's a remarkable conversation
	...

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