ORANGE CITY, Iowa | Dr. Laird Edman, professor of psychology at Northwestern College, has recently presented his research at conferences in California and Georgia.

Edman presented his research, “The Faithful Brain: Using the Science of Faith in our Faith Practice,” at the third annual Conference of Psychology and Spiritual Formation in La Mirada, Calif, sponsored by Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought. Edman’s presentation focused on how the cognitive science of religion (CSR) and the psychology of religion can influence the way people live out their faith, including how faith is taught to children and worship is structured and practiced.

At the Christian Association for Psychological Studies conference in Atlanta, Edman presented his research, “Is This Stuff Even Christian? Current Research in the Cognitive Science of Religion.” His presentation sought to help Christians in psychology understand the discipline of CSR, a new field that focuses on how human cognitive structures predispose people to be religious in certain ways.

Edman gave a second presentation at the conference, entitled "Can We Even Measure This? Assessing Integration in Council for Christian Colleges Universities’ (CCCU) Psychology Departments."