How Did Religion Evolve?
Posted by Science Oxford on February 17, 2010 | comments
Personally I’m not sure we will ever be able to answer that question, however the below study seems to be able to offer some light on the situation.
Read on:
Visit this page »Religion evolved as a byproduct of pre-existing mental capacities, and not because it fulfilled a specific function of its own—though it can facilitate cooperation in society, a study concludes.
Why religion emerged among early humans remains a source of contention among scholars. Many scientists believe religion is ultimately based in the brain, but that still leaves unclear how and why these behaviors originated and how they may have been shaped during evolution. Some archaeologists think religion came about partly as a strategy by some people to grab power, simply by claiming some sort of secret knowledge.
The new study, published Feb. 8 in the research journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, takes a somewhat different track, exploring the link between morality and religion.
“Some scholars claim that religion evolved as an adaptation to solve the problem of cooperation among genetically unrelated individuals, while others propose that religion emerged as a by-product of pre-existing cognitive capacities,” said study co-author Ilkka Pyysiainen of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies in Finland.
Pyysiainen and a co-author, evolutionary psychologist Marc Hauser Harvard University, reviewed the two competing theories using the principles of what they call experimental moral psychology.
“Religion is linked to morality in different ways,” said Hauser. “For some, there is no morality without religion, while others see religion as merely one way of expressing one’s moral intuitions.” But past studies, the authors said, show that people of differing religion or no religion show similar moral judgments when asked to comment on unfamiliar moral dilemmas. That suggests intuitive judgments of right and wrong work independently of explicit religious commitments, the researchers argued.
“This supports the theory that religion did not originally emerge as a biological adaptation for cooperation, but evolved as a separate by-product of pre-existing cognitive functions that evolved from non-religious functions,” said Pyysiainen. “However, although it appears as if cooperation is made possible by mental mechanisms that are not specific to religion, religion can play a role in facilitating and stabilizing cooperation between groups.”
This might help to explain the complex association between morality and religion, the scientists added. “It seems that in many cultures religious concepts and beliefs have become the standard way of conceptual moral intuitions. Although, as we discuss in our paper, this link is not a necessary one, many people have become so accustomed to using it, that criticism targeted at religion is experienced as a fundamental threat to our moral existence,” said Hauser.
What do you think?