Long question! The first few paragraphs are background info, see final paragraphs for the actual question. Hang in there!
I read an interesting article some time ago called Gods and Science. The article brought up an interesting point that I had not been aware of: There is a specific part of the brain, the frontal lobes, which is active during religious experiences. The author's proposed purpose of this part of the brain was that it gave us Darwinian impulses (nothing to do with evolution, take it easy!), which are higher-level impulses rather than the eat/sleep/mate impulses of animals.
What does this have to do with religion? The frontal lobes are an inner voice that tell us how to behave, and are responsible for making decisions that do not benefit us in the short run, but do in the long run, like going to the bathroom, going to the grocery store, and being religious. Some believe, right or wrong, that these impulses can be consciously recognized in times of increased frontal lobe activity (quiet meditative moments and in panicked, traumatic instances), and are often interpreted as instructions from a higher being: Messages from God.
In a sensory deprivation tank, all sensory stimulus is cut off to the body. You are suspended in liquid which is exactly body temperature, it is completely dark, and the tank is soundproofed. It is basically a waking coma. During this process, the frontal lobes become greatly stimulated, and it is common to have visions or hallucinations, most often of a religious nature.
Phineas Gage was a demolitions worker in the mid-19th century, and in 1848 an explosion drove a steel rod through his head, which damaged or destroyed his frontal lobes. As a result, his personality drastically changed. He showed signs of low-level sociopathy, he became less methodical and more reckless, and became an atheist.
Anyway, all of this is to say that the frontal lobes seem to contribute directly to a person's belief in God, as well as some other personality traits. The authors described it as a "little man behind the curtain" telling us what to do for our own long-term benefit, rather than instant gratification.
This suggests to me that a drug could be developed that would anesthetize the frontal lobes, thus temporarily causing someone to stop believing in God. This would only be temporary, like taking an aspirin. Theists, would you do this to better understand the lives of atheists? This assumes that when the drug wore off, you would go back to belief as you did before.
Atheists: This also suggests that a stimulant could be made to excite the frontal lobes and cause a person to become religious. Would you do this, to experience what the theists feel?
Agnostics, would you try both types of pills? After experiencing each side, would you continue taking the pills if one made you happier than the other?
Theists, one final question--what if you took the stimulant pill, in effect making you more religious, and you found your beliefs were different than when you weren't on the pill? Would you try to keep those beliefs after the pill wore off?
The sensory deprivation tank data suggests that if you took enough stimulant pills, you would have a religious vision. Assuming this would not endager you or permanently alter you in any way, would you try this? Theists? Agnostics? Atheists?
Anyway, I know that's a long question. Best points to the most specific and best-thought-out response. Please specify yourself as a theist/agnostic/atheist if your answers don't make it plainly obvious already.
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