http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3366295/Are-hardwired-rel...
Quote:
Religion is often seen as being at odds with the science of evolution, but according to a growing area of research, it may actually be a product of this fundamental biological process.
Fear of incurring the wrath of God, or a range of gods, may have played a key role in the development of our species, according to a leading expert in the evolution of human co-operation.
He argues that belief in a divine being who will punish bad behaviour may have allowed humans to co-operate in a way our relatives in the animal kingdom do not.
I imagine the theists will go nuts when they read this....
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An interesting article. Overall I disagree but some of the observations are things I've considered.
For example:
"As humans began to live in larger and more social groups, this led to a greater ability to understand each other's intentions."
IMO: Religion is often used as a credential. Supposedly there are basic strictures that a person of any particular faith adhere to and supposedly they can be relied on to deal within those strictures. I say "supposedly" because in fact that is not the case. We see the same thing with political parties (another form of religion) every day.
Not sure what you mean. Are you saying that people don't obey the commandments of their religion? That's true, of course.
I don't think you can conflate political parties with religion; they don't threaten eternal damnation or promise paradise in the afterlife.
Not all religions threaten eternal damnation or promise paradise. For example, religions that subscribe to the idea of reincarnation don't threaten damnation or paradise.
Political parties are every bit as much religion as any formally accepted faith. They're just as mindlessly followed as any other faith.
They might not threaten "eternal" damnation but they do threaten four to eight years of it.