Miguel Farias is an experimental psychologist and author. For the past 20 years he has conducted lab and field studies on the psychobiology of beliefs and rituals, including pilgrimage and meditation practices, using a variety of methods such as fRMI, EEG, neural stimulation, interviews, surveys, and genetic expression. His recent projects include the Understanding Unbelief programme, Mapping Spiritual Possession, and Religion & the Social Brain (in collaboration with Robin Dunbar). He is the co-author of the Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You? and lead editor of the Oxford Handbook of Meditation.  

 

In 2017 he won the William Bier award, given by the American Psychological Association, for his work on the psychology of belief and spirituality. He has been a Research Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Oxford and is the founding director of the Brain, Belief, & Behaviour Lab at Coventry University. The BBC, National Geographic, and New Scientist have reported his work, and he speaks regularly at science festivals. Find out more at miguelfarias.co.uk