Study suggests `born-again' believers have smaller brains
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) For decades, mainline Protestants have been beset by
bad news: declining numbers, aging membership, waning cultural
influence.
A new study from Duke University Medical Center, however, gives
these Protestants one reason for cheer: they seem to have larger brains
than born-again Christians, Roman Catholics and the religiously
unaffiliated.
The study, which examined the hippocampus region of the brain, found
that Protestants who did not have a "born again" experience had
significantly more gray matter than either those who reported a
life-changing religious experience, Catholics, or unaffiliated older
adults.
