Did Religion Shape the Very Structure of Our Brains?

Religion and neuroscience are not an obvious pairing. But earlier this week, a study published in Social Neuroscience demonstrated that spiritual feelings activate the neurological reward systems of devout Mormons. The study used fMRI scans to show that the nucleus accumbens—an area associated with reward—is activated when Mormons who have a strong sense of spirituality carry out religious activities. The same area can also be activated by love, sex, drugs, and music.
In this particular paper, the study, with a sample size of just 19, has serious limitations. But it's part of a young and fast-growing new field that examines the relationship between our brains and religion, called neurotheology.