Definitions of “Religion”
• Many
• Modernist
• Evolutionary: Minimalist & Maximalist
-- Do Work
-- Have Consequences
Evolutionary Definitions
Minimalist (Byproduct)
Maximalist (Adaptation)
• Spirit Ideas
• Soul Beliefs
• “Invisible Agents”
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• Focus on Ideas
• Focus on Practices
Ritual Practices
Emotional States
Transcendence
Morals/Ethics
Definitions and Agendas
• Minimalist: used by rationalists/atheists to
identify “origins” and “explain religion” as
psychological epiphenomena or error
• Maximalist: used by evolutionary theists to
show religion is “adaptive” and progressed
from “primitive” to “modern”
What is “Religion”?
• Constructed Category
– Historical
– Cultural
– Political
– Legal
– Confessional
– Academic/Analytic
Category & Construct of “Religion”
• Supernatural/Natural
• Heaven/Earth
• Sacred/Profane
• Spiritual/Physical
• Religious/Secular
Cartesian Dualism (Mind/Body)
• Enlightenment Categories
• Western & Christian Ideas
WEIRD (Plus C)
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Western
Educated
Industrialized
Rich
Democratic
Christian
Cognitive “Byproduct” Theories
• Natural Selection on Individuals
• Focus on “Religious” Ideas
• Religion as Psychological Byproduct
• “Religion” Not an Adaptation
• Many Atheists
Emphasis on Subconscious Processing
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Reliably Develops in All Humans
Automatic
Effortless
Super Fast
Habitual
Narrow Tasks
“Religion” Related Modules
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Causal Attribution
Pattern Imposition
Theory of Mind
Agency Detection
Teleology/Design
Commonsense Dualism
Combined Byproducts:
Ordinary Cognition
• Describes Normal Human Mind
• Product of Pan-Human Neurobiology
• Does Not Describe “Religious” Mind
Durkheim’s Critique
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Too “Intellectualist” (Ideas)
Too “Individualist” (Psychology)
Natural Selection Eliminates Errors & Illusions
Ancestors Would Not Have Survived
Must Be Some Other Explanation
Durkheim’s Explanation
• Religion is Product of Collective Rituals
• Group Rituals Arouse Intense Emotions
• Emotions Fixed as “Sacred” Symbols
• Society Worships These “Totem” Symbols
• Totemism & Later Religions are “Social Glue”
Evolutionary “Adaptive” Theories
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Natural Selection on Groups
Focus on “Religious” Practices
Rituals as Social Glue
“Religion” Is An Adaptation
Many Theists
Two Adaptive Theories
• Costly “Ritual” Signaling: Trust, Reliability,
Prosociality, and Altruism
• Group Level Selection: Religion (enabled by
language, ideas, symbols) Binds Group
Together and Motivates
Critique of Adaptive Theories
• Kin Selection (Inclusive Fitness)
• Reciprocal Altruism (Tit for Tat)
• No Group Level Selection (Only Individual)
NEW DEBATE IS OLD DEBATE
• Byproduct Theorists:
• Adaptationists:
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Focus on Ideas
Individual Psychology
Cognitive Errors
Not an Adaptation
MODERN TYLORIANS
Focus on Practices
Group Psychology
Prosocial Benefits
Adaptation
MODERN DURKHEIMIANS
Where Are We Today?
• Many Good Evolutionary Explanations
• Neither Approach is Conclusive
• Neither Approach is Exclusive
• Need Both Approaches
• Need to Disclose Agendas
• Can Support Either Atheism or Theism
Dissolving the Origins Problem
• Behavioral Modernity
• Fully “Modern”
• Linguistic Fluency
• Symbolic Capacities
• Just Like Us
50,000 YEARS AGO: Animist Worldviews
Upper Paleolithic (50,000 BCE): Symbols &
Language
• Rock “Art”
• Cave Paintings
• Body Ornaments
• Grave Goods
• Musical Instruments
• “Venus” Figurines
Mythical First “Moderns”
– Who Are We?
– Where Did We Come From?
– How Do Things Work?
– Why Do Things Happen?
– What Is This Place?
– Who Are They?
Language: The Integration Problem
• Inner Reality/Experience
• Outer Reality/Events
Making Sense: Shamans & Animist
Worldviews
• Theories
• Models
• Classifications
• Taxonomies
• Order
• Explanations
Shamans as Subset/Specialists
• Hunter-Gatherers/Horticulturalists
• Animist Worldviews
• Adepts
• Apprenticeship
• Often “Chosen”
• Dangerous to Deny Calling
• Dangerous Calling
“ASC”
Methods of ASC Induction
• Fasting/Starvation
• Sweating/Dehydration
• Pain/Self-Torture
• Dancing/Exhaustion
• Rhythmic/Drumming
• Isolation/Meditation
• Sensory Deprivation
• Sleep Deprivation
• Psychotropics (Plants & Brews)
Peopling the World: Powered by
Animist Worldviews
Animist Worldviews as Adaptation
• Tightly Linked to Ancestral Lifeways
• Hunting & Gathering
• Nomadic or Non-Sedentary
• Small Groups (15-150)
• Oral Cultures
• Comprehensive Philosophy
• Knowledge as Technology
Animist Worldviews
• Unified Cosmology (No Dualisms)
• Force or Power
• Thoughts/Symbols are Real
• “Nature” as Anthropomorphic Society
• Animals are “Other Than Human Persons”
• Animated World (Relational Epistemology)
• Primacy of Place (Spatial Ontology)
Totalized “This World” Theory
• Seeing
• Perceiving
• Constructing
• Explaining
• Negotiating
• Relating
• Being
Neolithic Transitions (Domestication
of Plants/Animals) & Slow
Development of “Religions”
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Sedentism
Surpluses
Specialization
Stratification
Sickness
Slavery
Neolithic Transitions & Scaling
• Sedentism
• Surpluses
• Specialization
• Stratification
• Sickness
• Suffering
• Slavery
Social Stratification
Neolithic Problems
• Legitimize Authority
• Justify Difference
• Maintain Power
• Social Control
• Social Conflict
• Social Cohesion
• Group Mobilization
Neolithic “Religious” Responses
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Rulers as Gods
Elites as Priests
Temples as Warehouses
Theology as Politics
Knowledge as Power
Monuments as Symbols
Commands as Signs
Two-Tiered Model of Cosmos:
As on Earth, So in Heaven
Late Neolithic Breakdowns
& Large-Scale Instability
• Bondage, Plagues, Floods, Droughts, Famines
& Migrations
• Intense & Destructive Warfare
• Poverty & Slavery
• Specialization & Alienation
• Theocracy & Despotism
AXIAL MOVEMENTS & SAGES
• Greece (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle)
• Persia (Zoroaster)
• India (Buddha, Mahavira)
• China (Confucius, Lao-Tzu)
• Levant (Prophets, Jesus, Mohammed)
AXIAL COMMON THEMES
• Critical (Primacy of Heavens/Cosmos)
• Universal over Local (Restraint on Rulers)
• Justifications for Suffering (Flawed Selves)
• Compassion for Sick & Poor (Welfare)
• Renunciation & Asceticism (Corruption)
• Transcendence (Otherworldly )
• Ethics & Morals (“The Golden Rule”)
• Meaning & Purpose of Life (Alienation)
• Salvation & Redemption (Death)
DERIVED “Religious” Responses
• Rulers, Elites, Priests, Masters, and Gods
• Obedience, Rules, Laws, and Commands
• Matters of Morality & Ethics
• Questions of Meaning & Purpose
• Justification for Suffering
• Escape from Suffering
• Transcendence
• Other Worldly
DERIVED “Religious” Dichotomies
• Supernatural/Natural
• Metaphysical/Physical
• Heaven/Earth
• Sacred/Profane
• Spirit/Matter
• Religious/Secular
Matters of: “BELIEF” & “FAITH”
“Modern-World Religions” are Derivations
• “Religions” are recent development in history
• “Religions” found in sedentary, agricultural,
larger-scale societies
• These “religions” are derived and different
• Are not more complex or profound
• Speak to different social, economic, political,
and psychological issues
Progressive Cultural-Religious Evolution
• Animism/Shamanism: “simple”
• Paganism/Polytheism: “developed”
• Monotheism/Universalism: “complex”
Important Considerations
• Variability Across Time and Space
• No Universal Animist Worldviews
• No Universal “Religions”
• All Equally Evolved
• All Equally Complex
Significant Difference: Oral v. Literate
IT ALL “MAKES SENSE”