Scientists at Oxford University are to start a two year study using torture as a method of testing the pain thresholds of volunteers holding religious or secular faiths. Candidates will be burnt while religious symbols are shown to them.
The researchers hope that the experiments will give them a deeper understanding of how faith affects a persons ability to resist pain. People who use techniques to overcome the torture will also be studied to understand their resistance abilities.
"Religious practices such as prayer and meditation release endorphins and would in theory increase the pain threshold" said a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
