Can you believe in God without seeing evidence of a God theory of mind autism and spirituality

I think that the vast majority of people who believe in a religion do so because their parents did and they were raised in that environment. A vanishingly small proportion of people look at all the available religions and say, "Yes, this one speaks to me." As such, religion seems to me to be a cultural construct like any other cultural construct.

As someone with a rich imagination, I have my own imaginary world, with a history, cultures, architecture and even religions (but only for their cultural use), I do not subscribe to the belief that autistic people lack imagination.  Also, I do not consider that having a very well developed imagination necessitates a belief in the supernatural .

TheCatWoman said:

I'm always curious with these types of conversations about why they're always focussed on Abrahamic religions, why not other world religions usch as Hinduism, Bhuddism etc? Why never minority religions, such as Paganism, old and new, Druidism etc?

It’s probably because they have a large majority within organised religion, especially in the western world so people are more familiar with them. 

There are theologians and researchers of religions who research comparative religion, including Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Paganism etc., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Armstrong

RachelO said:

am not sure what is happening in Catholic church's, but I will look that up to.

The problem is that Bishop’s may implement certain liturgical protocols but parish priests feel free to use their discretion over certain things. An example of this is the long time alienation of women in parish life, despite documentation recommending that priests include women in particular aspects of church life. 

If I was still involved in parish life I would definitely request a meeting with the parish priest or even the bishop about implementing change that would benefit autistic people. I used to do this sort of thing all the time in my parish, but my ex. parish priest assaulted me at our last meeting. 

I posted some research to University of Aberdeen and they did a conference recently which involved Buddism. I think not many people with autism who are of other faiths may be involved in research or speak out about it as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWJc3khsfkA&list=PLmKrFyUVrIH63jltECc30k-wARaTMEdnz&index=2

It is also listed as a day one key topic in the website below.

www.abdn.ac.uk/.../

Jamesmac said:

it is theoretically possible. It can't be proven or disproven.

Yes, that’s true. Being open to the possibility can sharpen the senses of the sacred in nature, or at least that is what I experience to an extent.

At the same time I’m becoming increasingly less certain of an omnipotent all powerful being/or any other being/spirit that might be a source of life. 

I can’t identify my motives/arguments for or against the existence of God, or perhaps I’m hedging my bets just ‘in case’.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager

I'm a polytheist, so the idea of one god is a strange one for me, as is omnipotence.

The 3 main religions, I'm guess ing mean Judaism, Christianity and Islam? They all use the Old Tesament as their base, it's only when Christianity and Islam happen that events veer off.

I'm always curious with these types of conversations about why they're always focussed on Abrahamic religions, why not other world religions usch as Hinduism, Bhuddism etc? Why never minority religions, such as Paganism, old and new, Druidism etc?

 I know that the Church of England has been trying to welcome more autistic people. A researcher who is autistic themselves has been involved in this research. I will post some of the guidelines. I am not sure what is happening in Catholic church's, but I will look that up to. Matthew Schneider I know is autistic and a Catholic priest.

www.churchofengland.org/.../gs1725-opening-the-doors-ministry-with-people-with-learning-disabilities-and-people-on-the-autistic-spectrum.pdf

I will add that the University of Aberdeen does  research into autism and theology. They had a recent conference in 2025 and done some research on autism and minimally speaking or non verbal and religion/spirituality. I will isten to this research over the weekend or early next week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjhmK0YhUH4&list=PLmKrFyUVrIH63jltECc30k-wARaTMEdnz&index=3

https://www.abdn.ac.uk/dhpa/research/centres/centre-for-autism-and-theology/neurodiversity-and-faith-series/

I never really understood the stories told in the bible but the 3 main religions seem to have similarities in story structure. There definitely is a spiritual aspect to anything you do and enjoy, whether joy is by intent or superseded my something you consider to be spiritual or miraculous outside of your control, or normal events/feelings. I guess it depends a lot on how you define spiritual whether the spirit is within you or possessing other things in the world.  I could never believe in anything fully that exists outside of the realm of the rational, although I like new and atmospheric experiences, there’s always a reason why things happen. I’m sure the prophets were all real men. 
But spiritual in reality means more to do with transcending personal limitations.

I believed in the Christian God growing up because that was what I was taught to believe in. I lost faith in that as a young adult and now class myself as post theist, so have no belief in a God or Gods.

I am fascinated though by our consciousness - what some would call a soul - and whether that exists after we leave this life on Earth. I wonder what that might entail. I certainly don't want to meet up with everyone I was related to in this life who have already left, and I can't imagine what sort of afterlife would be enjoyable really. My ideal would be to live in a place with no pain or sickness or dangers, have nothing which induces anxiety, to be able to talk to interesting people and play video games. I'd miss eating chocolate, but perhaps the afterlife can simulate that experience?

I don't believe that a God can control stuff that happens on Earth, I think that maybe everything that happens is based on chaos theory. I believe that if there is a higher consciousness, we have a part of that inside us and that is what we draw on for strength in times of need.

I do understand though that we all perceive things differently and I accept and respect the faiths of others.

Overall, you indicate that while traditional Theory of Mind models suggest autistic people may struggle with abstract religious belief, contemporary research increasingly recognises that autistic individuals can and do experience rich, meaningful, and sometimes sensory-based forms of spirituality.

I have encountered this form of discussion before.

Traditional ToM models suggest that belief in God depends on the ability to attribute mental states to an unseen agent. Because autism has historically been associated with differences in mentalising, some researchers concluded that autistic people would be less religious.

To answer your title question directly, I personally achieve deep spiritual richness without requiring belief in God.

Each to their own tho'.

Autism does not prevent faith and spiritual experience differs between individuals.

The importance of balance in life and self-care for people of faith and for those without is just as strong.

So, "may your God go with you"

Meanwhile

Best wishes :-)

Neither of my parents are/were religious, and both myself and my sister were given free rein to decide for ourselves what we wanted to believe in.

While I was exposed to other faiths during my school years, I never found any of them compelling to me. I've no idea with my autism was a factor in that, and as my sister has similar beliefs to me (humanist) I suspect not.

I would say, though, that I've no disbelief in a god/goddess/whatever as such, and I've taken an interest in learning more about other faiths in recent years, mostly to improve my understanding of current affairs. I just don't feel there's a god-shaped hole in me that needs filling with something.  

Interesting piece.

The research highlights some of the difficulties of defining ‘supernatural experience’, ‘spirituality’ and ‘religion’. The terminology and language of experience is dependent on cultural background and religious upbringing/belief/faith tradition

RachelO said:

critiques traditional "theory of mind" (ToM) models, which suggest that autistic individuals cannot grasp spiritual concepts, proposing instead that they experience unique, profound spiritual lives and that religious communities must accommodate different cognitive styles

I am agnostic but I used to be a person of faith. In my experience, many leaders of Catholic religious orders are perfectionists, and quite possibly autistic. Theory of Mind with regard to religious belief has had its share of criticism but I agree with the conclusion which you have summarised.

I can’t speak for all religions and belief systems, but I know the Catholic Church with its rigid liturgical structure has been notoriously bad at accommodating people with disabilities.  My old parish used to have one Mass per year for people with learning disabilities. They repurposed the ‘Children’s Lectionary’ for the Mass, a rather demeaning action for some adult participants.  There was also one Mass per year for the deaf community. 

Accommodation of autistic people’s learning styles and needs would not be a consideration for most parish priests.

CatWoman that was interesting to read.

My upbringing sounds similar to yours, although I was raised by Christian  parents  and I went to a Catholic school from 4 to 19.

We had mass at school and attended church with nuns on occasion and had lunch with them once. We prayed at home at night at times, although my parents didn’t take us to church. My sister took us in our early teens for special times in the calendar like at Christmas.

 I went on my own journey with my faith when I was 16 when I was looking for a miracle and thought that God alone could do it and could make me grow 4 inches taller. God never gave me this to me. God though give me one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit which helped me.

I had a quick skim through your post. Interesting topic.

I myself am agnostic, leaning athiest. I believe that by all known scientific laws of existence, a "god" should not exist, but I am also open to the idea of such an equivalent being existing through unknown variables and possibilities. Who knows? There might be some kind of omnipotent, omniscient being that exists beyond our perception of reality watching over us all, it is theoretically possible. It can't be proven or disproven.

Sorry I'm not caffienated enough to read and take in all of your post. 

I don't remember a time when The Gods wern't real to me and lots of other things people call faith, nonsense, religion or whatever, it seems to be an awareness I was born with. I come from a secular family, we didn't go to church or anything, religion was this one of those things you did in school assemblies.

I'm not sure if autism has anything to do with it, or being an only child with very few interactions with other children or adults, I never lost what I the awareness of the divine and the "other" more invisable realms which I think we're all born with, I think we're "encouaged" out of it or at best channelled down a particular religious route. I think by the time I was around other children and adults who would tell me it's all nonsense, I was an older child and it was more a case of learning to keep quiet about it and not understanding how everyone else couldn't "see" what was so obvious and everyday to me.