BRAIN MATTERS: NEUROSCIENCE AND CREATIVITY

This article introduces a relationship between neuroscience and creativity for the sake of religious education. Citing creativity as a process that involves both originality and value, the writing articulates Howard Gardner's interplay between the talent of the person, the internal demands of a discipline, and the quality judgment of the field. The article explores creativity expressed both within the field of neuroscience, with the beginning of the neurocentric era, and continuing with contemporary use of technology. It then surveys neuroscience's own exploration of the fields of creativity and religious experience, with ensuing limitations. The article establishes a dialogue between religious education and neuroscience, demonstrating how religious education provides neuroscience theory with grounded practice while also supplying ethical frameworks for neuroscience practice. It closes asserting that while currently neuroscience primarily endorses sound educational practice, future neuroscientific research should yield fresh horizons demanding ongoing creativity by religious educators.