Psychologists Are Learning What Religion Has Known for Years

This is a good piece, and religion does provide an undeniable power to change behavior. However, I think the author is conflating their own intentions with those of people who have actually held and maintained power via religion.

Over thousands of years, these experiments, carried out in the messy thick of life as opposed to sterile labs, have led to the design of what we might call spiritual technologies—tools and processes meant to sooth, move, convince, or otherwise tweak the mind.

I think it's a mistake (and ahistorical) to assume that these methods are intended to improve people's well being. The religions existing in the world today are here BECAUSE they were the most effective at altering peoples behavior. These techniques and rituals are the phenotypes of memetic viruses. Of course that isn't to say they can't be put to good use.

> Rather than scoffing at religion and starting psychological investigations from scratch, we scientists should be studying rituals and spiritual practices to understand their influence, and where appropriate, create new techniques and therapies informed by them. Doing this doesn’t require accepting a given theology—just an open mind and an attitude of respect.

One might say, the Golden Rule principle still has broad applications—- even today.