Evangelicals are Hard-Wired to Believe Trump.

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Brain plasticity and childhood religious indoctrination explain why evangelicals fall for Trump's lies and fabrications...

One reason Trump supporters believe his lies comes from a basic fact about the brain: it takes more mental effort to reject an idea as false than to accept it as true. In other words, it’s easier to believe than to not.

This fact is based on a landmark study published in the journal PLOS ONE in 2009, which asked the simple question, how is the brain activated differently during a state of belief compared to a state of disbelief?  To test this, participants were asked whether or not they believed in a series of statements while their brain activity was being imaged by an fMRI scanner.  Some sentences were simple and fact-based (California is larger than Rhode Island), while others were more abstract and subjective (God probably does not exist).  The results showed the activation of distinct but often overlapping brain areas in the belief and disbelief conditions.  While these imaging results are complicated to interpret, the electrical patterns also showed something that was fairly straightforward. Overall, there was greater brain activation that persisted for longer during states of disbelief.  Greater brain activation requires more cognitive resources, of which there is a limited supply.  What these findings show is that the mental process of believing is simply less work for the brain, and therefore often favored.  The default state of the human brain is to accept what we are told, because doubt takes effort.  Belief, on the other hand, comes easily.

For Christian fundamentalists, being taught to suppress critical thinking begins at a very early age.  It is the combination of the brain’s vulnerability to believing unsupported facts and aggressive indoctrination that create the perfect storm for gullibility.  Due to the brain's neuroplasticity, or ability to be sculpted by lived experiences, evangelicals literally become hardwired to believe far-fetched statements.

This wiring begins when they are first taught to accept Biblical stories not as metaphors for living life practically and purposefully, but as objective truth.  Mystical explanations for natural events train young minds to not demand evidence for beliefs.  As a result, the neural pathways that promote healthy skepticism and rational thought are not properly developed.  This inevitably leads to a greater susceptibility to lying and gaslighting by manipulative politicians, and greater suggestibility in general.

Source: This Salon Article.

Note: The article was written by Bobby Azarian, a neuroscientist affiliated with George Mason University and a freelance journalist.  His research has been published in journals such as Cognition & Emotion and Human Brain Mapping, and he has written for The New York Times, The Atlantic, Psychology Today, and Scientific American.

Are we claiming that they’d rather go with Trump than another Republican candidate?

They always go for a Republican candidate based on the issue of abortion alone.

Then they demonize Democrats and endorse everything the strongest Republican candidate says wholeheartedly. It’s extreme black and white thinking which fundamentalists are used to.

Their religion is the sole means of salvation. Everything else is evil and from Satan. There are no problems with their religion whatsoever even though child abuse and misogyny are rampant.

Child abuse, misogyny, racism, magical thinking, never question authority ... perfect Trump followers.

I’ve known specific conservative churches that basically preach to their members that it’s their Christian duty to vote Republican while focusing on that candidate’s seemingly positive, almost saintly attributes.

I’ve never heard of this sort of thing happening the other way as far as religion goes. (Tell me if you have.) The most I’ve seen involved my ex’s landlord who was trying to round up a group of ne’er do wells, including my ex, to get them to vote Democrat, but that was on a comparatively small scale and was not intertwining politics with religion which I find especially icky.

Given the large number of fundamentalists, especially in areas like the Midwest, this could be a significant contributing factor during some elections.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hVp47f5YZg

"Brain Washing"; True, Our Mind Is our
Clothes; Whether Our Mind comes to Truth or Lies Depends on How Well the Washing Machine of the Environment
Works DarK Thru LiGHT; Yes, in Terms of Truth Or Lies; Social Bonding is the Biggest Glue, though; Being Outcast
From the 'Group Think' For Binding And Bonding Spells Evolutionary Disaster in terms of Oldest Social Animal Instincts in Terms of Losing the Warm And Cozy Oxytocin Feeling that Believing in Group Think Brings. Veer from the Social Norm of Group Think; Get Outcast And Starve to Death In Evolutionary Years past; Still A Deep Instinctual Evolutionary Feeling of Concern; up to Fear and doing almost anything as far as 'Republican Nature' to stick With Group Trump Think NoW
in Dark of Lies, if Necessary, for 'Belonging'; in other words 'they' are owned; no Authentic Self to Grow and Be told.

And It's True; Although Far From Common Sense and Logic; For the Truth is if The 'Religious Right' ever Got their
Way and Got 'Roe vs Wade' Overturned; It would not be the End of Abortion By Far; Just the End of the Safe and Medical
Procedure that Actually Saves Lives; along with the Educational Resources for Reproductive Intelligence That
Spells Less unwanted Pregnancies; and of course in turn, less Abortions, as Effective Contraception really
is the only answer that is real to Reduce the Frequency of Abortions, overall. Currently Abortions are at Lowest
Levels, now, Ever Since Roe Versus Wade, so the Education for Reproductive Greater Intelligence per Using Effective
Means of Birth Control; Yes, Contraception; is finally Paying off for Everyone's Benefit in Well-Being, Overall Now.

The Evidence is clear; in Catholic Mexico Where Abortions are Illegal; it doesn't stop the Prevalence of Abortion from
Being as Great as any place where it is Legal. The World Health Organization makes it clear that Countries
Without Safe Medical Procedures have More Death, Disability, and Overall Human Suffering from Procedures
that are Not Medically Safe; as the Fact is Abortion is a Natural Part of the Environment and Human
Nature too; for the struggles to Exist in Survival that include Sacrifices for those Who Already Exist;
in Terms of enough Food for the Existing Family to eat; just base survival; that's still all; as those
Who Hate Medically Safe Procedures for Abortion continue to take away the Food from the Poorest
And Most Unfortunate among us; That Just Leads to More Abortions as does taking away Education
And Affordable Access for Effective Contraception. Anyway; it's clear in Countries that do not Provide these
Safe and Medical Procedures; the Rate of Human Misery and Suffering in Terms of New Borns Destroyed after
the Fact of Birth in Torture of Death; and Permanent Disability; and Death Among Women Who Do have Medically
Unsafe Abortions in Back Alley Ways is a greater harm to Humans Overall; than the More Humane Way of understanding
Human Nature and Providing Procedures that are Medically Safe that do Lead to the Least Harm Possible Overall for
Human Suffering; Both for the Mother and the Unborn-to-Born Child that may not be Nearly as Humane than what
Medically Unsafe Procedures and Circumstances Bring. And Of course there are No "Peaceful Protests" That
Any Church Will Bring in a Back Alley Abortion that leads to More suffering for the Unborn; And Injuries
ranging from Maiming to Death for the Mother too; "So Much Cognitive Empathy Here; Just Too Much too Understand"

Yeah it's True; if it was not for the Abortion Issue; the so-called "Dark Force" That Republicans Use to Bind and
Bond the Religious Right over the 'Chicken Soup Warm and Fuzzies'; yes, The Social Bonding Force of My Quarter
Back of My Religion is Greater than Yours too as Far as Religious Sports Teams go too; is Just another
Football to Play with Regardless of who will be Harmed More if the 'Winning Team' Wins.
But It is very True; This is the Main Issue that the Religious Right Uses to Drive Folks to Vote
For Whoever is the Republican Candidate; even a 'Father of All Lies'; currently counting over 15,000
in 3 Years; About 5,000 Lies A year; my God that's a lot of Twitter Breaths of 'Stuff' Stink Stank 'Stuff';
Imagine a World Where A Candidate Will Brag About Shooting Someone on 5th Avenue and still get supported by 'You'.
He Understands the Game; He Understands How the 'Dark Force' of bonding and binding and Loving Lies does still work.

The Brain Washing Continues in Ignorance; as really How Many People will pay attention
to more than 140 to 280 Characters of Depth Anyway in an increasingly Shallow And Vapid World that is
Just more Reflective of the 'Trump Ways of Life'; Without The Cognitive Empathy that is Intelligent Enough through actual
Life Experience And Increasing Social Empathic Wisdom To Understand and Walk in the Shoes of Others who have a Vastly Different Set of Challenges to Overcome in life.

People will Do What it takes to Survive and So Will All the Other Animals
too; The World is a really tough place for some folks Financially to even Survive; And it is an even Tougher Place
Now to find Anyone Truly Genuine Enough; and Yes, Strong Enough in Soul to Buck 'the Group Think' of Wherever they
Land in Life; It just depends on What the Topic is; Group Think 'in dark' is just as Prevalent on this Website as
Anywhere else; The Autism Thingy Surely does not inoculate any one Area of 'Group Think' from Developing
An 'Abortion Issue' Like a Frigging 'Charitable Organization' to help the Real Well Being Threatening Issues
associated with that condition too; Fundamentalism Is Just another Human Disordered Way of Life and
it surely is NOT JUST SPECIFIC TO EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS. i studied it in two places at one 'time'.

I've Seen it Happen; Autistic Folks Who Develop A Tribe Will Have a Charitable Organization As their
Perceived 'Evil Good' to Bind and Bond Around For some Semblance of the Tribal Group Think of 'Warm Chicken
Soup'; For those who have the Innate Biological Ability to Still Feel that at least; as Some Benefit not at all from
'The small talks' of life now; as they just don't get that shot of Warm Chicken Soup That is actually the Affective
Empathy that Small Talk Naturally Brings other wise in Oxytocin Ways; the warm and fuzzy Neurohormone for real.

What's Really a Challenge is if You Feel That Oxytocin Warmth from Being in the Social Group; And You
Sacrifice that Intrinsic Benefit For The Greatest Good of Truth in Light that Lifts the Veils of Ignorance
to Provide the Original Greek Definition of Apocalypse that in deed Means Just that; Lifting the Veils
of Ignorance; instead of Blowing Up the World over another 'Autism Speaks' Ignorance for the Sake
of 'Bonding Warmth' as this is where Affective Empathy below Cognitive Empathy Goes sour; True,
this is Where Love Goes sour too; as in general the People Who hate the Truth may Love Each
other Where the Chicken Soup Never Goes cold; For it's true, People Bond over the
Dark of Ignorance even easier than What a Champion For Truth Will Do truly
Altruistically as someone who is 'fully Human (Healthy)' does sacrifice this
Warmth Now to achieve A Greater Good that does not Provide
Any Immediate Gratification now. Not all Humans Develop a Strength like that in REAL SOUL in Light of Truth and Love;
Some Do; but they usually don't have a Group Think Place to Rest their HeART NoW in Chicken Soup Warmth;
Instead; Perhaps they become 'Leaves As Grass ALL'; Nature All And Generate their own Warmth Within Now
and come awake in Light too; to actually Staycation in a Place That is not only Truly Bliss But Truth in Light too.

Considering that Science Literally Assesses the Average Human Attention Span Now as Less than A Gold Fish...

There is no longer Enough Depth for Many People to ever find 'Leaves of Grass' Now; slowly they wilt; slowly they wilt'...
nothing
left
but
DusT in DarK....

I'll Keep my Room With A View; Yes, My Window Seat in my Airplane of Life.

Here's A Thing; Move Away From 'Farm' And Gain Lifetimes more in Wisdom of Cognitive Empathy.

Or Just Stay at 'The Animal Farm' And Be Grain Fed; At Best Free Roaming in Just one Small PriSon.

This is why Information Technology is so Important; it may be Brief in Attention Span; but at least ya
will get away
from
'the
Farm'....
Any medicine is better than none at all that really truly works.

Ya Gotta Get Out and About to Truly Get 'Love Wise'....And Evolve A Soul For Truth in LiGHT...
And if Ya Are Really Industrious; Keep the Love And The Chicken Soup True; So Warm And True..

There is no Real Greater Truth or Love; Without A Lifetime Effort to Understand the Breath of others.... all others...