In this issue
Mind, music and spirituality comes together in the lab
Trinity Lutheran discusses the ethics of food choices
University of Chicago to study physician spirituality

Mind, music and spirituality comes together in the lab
Dr. Petr Janata, a cognitive neuroscience researcher, has recently done extensive research on the connection between music, spirituality and religion. This month he led a discussion on the mind, music and spirituality with sponsorship from a Scientists in Congregations grant to First Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The talk, “From Cantatas to Country: How the Brain Supports Strong Experiences with Music,” was held at Nebraska Wesleyan University on March 15. The presentation was followed by a brown bag lunch discussion the following day at the church and welcomed both scholars and interested members of the public.

Janata is associate professor in the psychology department and Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California – Davis. Specifically, he explores the relationship between these integral aspects of human culture in terms of underlying psychological and neuroscientific principles.

He uses a variety of tools in his work, including electrophysiological recordings (EEG and ERP), functional brain imaging (fMRI), behavioral measures and computational modeling. A project on “Music, Spirituality, Religion and the Human Brain” was funded by the Metanexus Institute via the Templeton Advanced Research Program and led by Janata and Robin Sylvan of Sacred Center from 2006 until 2009.

First Lutheran is planning additional presentations in its lecture series titled, “Growing in Faith Through the Lens of Science” (see Calendar section). These lectures are in conjunction with the Scientists in Congregations grant, which is underwritten by the John Templeton Foundation.

Trinity Lutheran discusses the ethics of food choices
A meal was home to an open discussion among scientists, clergy and laymen at Trinity Lutheran in Moorhead, Minnesota last month. The focus was on Faith, Food and Biotechnology and included an adult discussion as well as activities for children that were funded by a Scientists in Congregations grant awarded the congregation late last year.

The mealtime conversation was centered on origins of food and was followed by further discussion on the science, faith and practical business and daily concerns regarding modern agricultural techniques.

The discussion was led by Dan Gunderson of Minnesota Public Radio and featured insights from local farmers, an agronomist and a theologian. North Dakota organic farmer Janet Jacobson and Sarah Lovas, who farms with her husband using non-organic farming techniques, were asked to explain the connection between the work they do and God’s call to care for and feed the hungry and neighbors.

Agronomist Jay Bjerke, who has worked at Monsanto and Land O’Lakes and theologian Per Anderson, professor of religion at Concordia University, discussed perspectives regarding genetics, church, and farming practices. (Anderson served as co-chair on the task force to write the ELCA genetics social statement adopted last August.)

University of Chicago to study physician spirituality
The University of Chicago is creating a Clinical Scholars Program to provide essential infrastructure for the spiritual renewal of the medical profession with the help of a $2.6 million, three-year grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

The grant will allow MDs Farr Curlin and Daniel Sulmasy to jumpstart the initiative as co-directors of the Program on Medicine and Religion at the University of Chicago. University of Chicago is home to a medical school as well as a nationally recognized divinity school.

Officials plan on recruiting eight University of Chicago faculty to take the spiritual “pulse” of medicine by researching the relationship between professional satisfaction and the actual spiritual lives of physicians. The goal is to look at how physicians relate their work to the religious tradition they hold personally and how their work has moral and spiritual meaning for them.

Curlin, associate professor of medicine and associate director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, has conducted surveys that find that physicians are more spiritual than many people realize and are as likely to have religious affiliation as members of the general population. He found that about two-thirds of physicians carry religion into other parts of their lives.

Sulmasy has found that most physicians believe in the importance of addressing the spiritual concerns of patients, particularly when it comes to the context of life, death and serious illness.

This new segment of the Clinical Scholars Program will be modeled on the University’s MacLean Center, where Sulmasy is also affiliated as an associate director.

Covalence, March 2012