Baillieul, Evolución Del Pensamiento Religioso

8/21/2019 Baillieul, Evolucin Del Pensamiento Religioso

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Reflections on the Origins of Religious Thought

Thomas A. Baillieul, 2011(1)

It occurs to me that the man and his religion are one and the same thing. The unknown exists.

Each man projects on the blankness the shape of his own particular world-view. He endows his

creation with his personal volitions and attitudes. The religious man stating his case is inessence explaining himself. hen a fanatic is contradicted! he feels a threat to his own

existence" he reacts violentl#.$

%nd the %theist&$

He projects no image upon the blank whatever. The cosmic m#steries he accepts as things in

themselves" he feels no need to hang a more or less human mask upon them. 'therwise! thecorrelation between a man and the shape into which he molds the unknown for greater ease of

manipulation is exact.$

--(ack )ance

Introduction

Religion, as a set of practices, affiliations, and beliefs, has been a characteristic of human culturesthroughout recorded histor. !ndeed, as a human enterprise, religion has been "ith us longer e#en thanagriculture, longer than there ha#e been to"ns and cities. $ne%ui#ocal e#idence of religious beha#iorsgoes bac& ', 000 ears, "ith suggestions that it goes bac& t"ice that far, possibl more. *ca#ations atthe +obe&li Tepe site in . . Tur&e sho" e#idence of highl sophisticated monumental constructiondating to -,000 B... (and possibl earlier). This site predates potter, "riting, and the domesticationof animals and plants (urr, 200/). The support for the large labor pool re%uired to construct thisceremonial site o#er a period of decades and e#en centuries suggests that religion, in the sense ofcreating a place of "orship, ma ha#e been the stimulus for settled agriculture and herding in the region.

#en toda, religion is often a dominant force in human interactions spar&ing armed conflicts aroundthe "orld, and fre%uentl dominating political debates.

h are "e religious, and "hat is the source of religions lasting hold on our species3 !f rationalthought and and the modern understanding of the "orld pro#ided b science ha#e reduced the need forsupernatural inter#ention, "h do "e still ha#e religion3 !s it some e#ol#ed trait, controlled b ourgenes3 !s it a cultural phenomenon passed on from generation to generation li&e man other forms of&no"ledge3 4r is it something else entirel3

Religion as a human institution is a gro"ing area of in#estigation in the fields of e#olutionar biologand anthropolog. T"o distinct schools of thought ha#e emerged5 the adaptationists "ho conclude thatreligious beliefs and practices "ere biologicallderi#ed traits "hich ga#e earl humans a sur#i#al

ad#antage6 and the beha#iorists "ho argue that religion comprises a set of learned beha#iors "ith nospecific adapti#e ad#antage and no biological 7cause.8 As "ith most polari9ed debates, the ans"erprobabl lies some"here in bet"een.

Religion is a uni%uel human acti#it not obser#ed in other animal species. Religious thoughts ande*pression re%uire consciousness, "hich leads to selfa"areness and, in humans, to smbolic thin&ing.hile the nature of consciousness is not "ell understood, "hat is &no"n is that it arises from theemergent comple*it of trillions of interconnected cells in the brain. Reduce the number of brain cells

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(i.e., brain si9e) and their connections, and consciousness diminishes, selfa"areness disappears.

e share a le#el of consciousness "ith certain other species. himpan9ees, dolphins, and elephants,along "ith certain members of the cor#id famil (cro"s and ra#ens, magpies, rollers), ha#e been sho"nto be selfa"are (Reiss, and :arino, 2001 and ;lotni&, et al., 200o"e#er, the limitedrange of signals do not rise to the le#el of smbolic speech uni#ersal in modern humans. ?ing (200@)does not consider chimps and gorillas to e*hibit religious beha#iors, but belie#es that modern humanstendenc to"ard religion has its roots in the social beha#iors of our primate ancestors. +oodall (2001)reports that chimpan9ees in the "ild respond to a thunderstorm the "a the "ould to an animalpredator, such as a leopard. !n other "ords, the assign an animate 7purpose8 to the storm, different

from their reaction to, sa, a "ildfire. till, to the e*tent that "e can put oursel#es into the minds ofother species through obser#ation of phsical beha#ior, no other animals appear to ponder their origins,the meaning of life, or the e*istence of the di#ine.

omparisons of the genomes of modern humans "ith our closest primate relati#e, the chimpan9ee,sho" that "e share -- of our genetic ma&eup out of ' billion =CA bases, onl 1 million aredifferent. Doo&ing at "here the differences lie, ho"e#er, is %uite re#ealing. A stud b ?atherine .;ollard (200-) loo&ed at the parts of the human genome "hich had undergone the greatest change. 4neregion, >uman Accelerated Region1 (>AR1), had 11/ base differences (compare that to onl 2 basedifferences bet"een chimpan9ees and chic&ens for this same =CA segment). !t turns out that this regionof the genome is acti#e in the de#elopment of the cerebral corte*, an area of the brain "hich is enlarged

in humans compared to other modern primates. Another gene, labeled A;:, associated "ith brain si9ealso is different bet"een humans and chimps. !ndeed, our brains are far larger than needed for basicsur#i#al. >uman babies are born premature compared to other primates so that their heads can passthrough the birth canal. This puts a #er specific burden on human parents and communities to pro#idenurturing through an e*tended childhood. +i#en this e*traordinar parenting effort and the fact that themodern human brain uses 20 of the bodEs energ, there must ha#e been an e#olutionar ad#antageassociated "ith brain si9e and function. The prefrontal corte* of the human brain, "hich issignificantl enlarged compared to other primates, is the center of our moral conscience as sho"n bstudies of indi#iduals "ho ha#e suffered traumatic brain inFuries. This area of the brain mediates theemotional responses arising from our midbrain. Also, the prefrontal corte* is the center for higherthought and is strongl associated "ith our feelings of empath to"ards others. mpath and

conscience are absolutel necessar for comple* social interactions.

4ther human characteristics, such as imagination, are harder to associate "ith specific brain regions,seeming instead to arise from the interactions of multiple brain centers. !t is #er difficult to pinpointthe precise moment "hen human beings began to e*press imagination and to reason smbolicall prere%uisites for entertaining religious 7thoughts.8 ;rior to the de#elopment of "riting,our &no"ledgeof the earliest humans is largel limited to durable materials such as stone and bone. The phsical

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e#idences for the e*istence of a smbolic, and thus a potentiall spiritual culture include5 ca#e paintings,roc& engra#ings, personal ornamentation, decorated tools, the use of natural pigments, engra#ed bonesand stones, burials "ith gra#e goods, sstems of notation, musical instruments, and comple* stone, boneand "ood technologies. *plicitl, the phsical demonstration of thought about, and smbolicrepresentation of, our ancestorsE relation to the "orld around them is to be found in art.

There are hints that hominid species ancestral to modern humans ma also ha#e had the capacit for

comple* communication, and imagination (=rrico, et al., 200'). The collection and use of naturalpigments for bod adornment (or other forms of decoration) ma date as far bac& as G00,000 ears B. ;.At the T"in Ri#ers site in Hambia, '00 lumps of ochre and other pigments (ello", pin&, red, purple,bro"n, and blueblac&), some gathered far from the site, ha#e been dated to the time ('00,000 G00,000ears B.;) of the largebrained human ancestor, homo heidelbergensis. >o"e#er, in the absence ofother cultural e#idence, the meaning of these pigments is unclear. Homo heidelbergensisalso has beenassociated "ith an /step manufacturing process for G00,000 earold "ooden spears and for a change inthe %ualit of craftsmanship of stone tools mo#ing from the simpl utilitarian forms used b earlierhomo erectus, to ones of stri&ing smmetr (Balter, 200-). At the earl archaic human (homo ergasteror homo heidelbergensis) site of Atapuerca in pain, and dating to around '00,000 ears, there ise#idence of the intentional storing of bones from at least '2 indi#iduals. This suggests a belief that

humans are not the same as animals (http5IIanthro.palomar.eduIhomo2ImodJhomoJ'.htm).Homo neanderthalensis sites from the Date tone Age in urope sho" e#idence of bod ornamentation(shell and bone beads) and comple* tool ma&ing. >o"e#er, these phsical traces all occur after the timeof contact bet"een Ceanderthals and modern humans, so that the significance is uncertain.Ceanderthals also created intentional burials, the bodies commonl being found fle*ed in a fetalposition. 4ften, the bones "ere stained "ith hematite either sprin&led on as po"dered pigment, ormi*ed "ith a #egetable oil and painted on the bodies. !n the case of a burial in hanidar a#e (northern!ra%), the bod of a Ceandethal man had been placed on pine boughs in a gra#e and flo"ers of /different species had been sprin&led on top. Ceanderthals also buried the heads of ca#e bears in at leastt"o ca#es in "estern urope. These are the remains of #er po"erful predators "ith "homCeanderthals competed (and feared). At Regourdou a#e in southern Krance, Ceanderthals dug a

rectangular pit, lined it "ith stones and buried at least 20 ca#e bear s&ulls "hich had been colored "ithhematie. A large stone slab "as intentionall placed o#er the pit. A similar burial "as found at=rachenloch a#e in "it9erland (http5IIanthro.palomar.eduIhomo2ImodJhomoJ'.htm). All of theseburials strongl suggest a deep thin&ing on the nature of death and supernatural po"er, but "hat thosethoughts "ere, "eEll ne#er &no". ome research on Ceanderthal habitation sites has determined thatd"elling patterns suggesti#e of gender segregation, not onl phsicall but in terms of resourceconsumption, implies that homo neanderthalensishad thought processes #er different from those ofmodern humans.

Anatomicall modern humans arose in Africa some"here bet"een 1o"e#er, modernanatom and modern beha#iors did not necessaril coincide. The De#ant homo sapiens sites do notsho" cultural remains an more sophisticated than temporall coincident Ceanderthal sites. The timingof "hen humans began to thin& smbolicall, and thus had the capacit to entertain religion, is highluncertain. Krom the southernmost coast of outh Africa comes e#idence that 1


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suggest a ne" "a of thin&ing about themsel#es and the "orld around them. Krom the Blombos a#e,also on the ape oast of outh Africa, come a set of "orn shell beads indicating an interest in bodiladornment. The same site has produced the first &no"n human art"or&, a piece of ochre engra#ed "ith ageometric linear pattern. Around the same time, humans in the north of "hat is no" Bots"ana hadcreated a ritual site in a small ca#e beneath the Tsodilo >ills. >ere, finel crafted stone tools made ofmaterials occurring hundreds of &ilometers distant "ere buried in shallo" pits beneath a natural stoneoutcropping "hich had been 7pec&ed8 to resemble a pthon. Red colored spear points sho"ed e#idenceof ha#ing been burned before interment. There is no e#idence of normal habitation at the site (e.g.,animal and plant remains, hearths)6 this "as a ca#e dedicated to ritual purposes onl (cience =ail,200


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of habitation sites "ith manufactured artifacts and burials. econd, "e can e*amine the religious beliefsand practices of aboriginal peoples (a.&.a. 7Kirst ;eoples8) in #arious parts of the "orld toda. Thebeliefs of modern foraging cultures undoubtedl are e#ol#ed beond, and are more 7sophisticated8 than,the first human religious beliefs6 still, the pro#ide a "indo" into the minds of humans li#ing "ithin therhthms of the natural "orld.

Before "e go much further, there is a basic %uestion "hich needs to be ans"ered what is religion3 The

ans"er is not as simple as one might thin&. 4ne #er basic definition states that 7 religion is a belief insome higher po"er, defined ho"e#er the belie#er "ishes.8 hile simple, this definition does note*plain "h5

di#erse religions still e*ist and ha#enEt et merged6

religious traditions ha#e such lasting po"er in an age of science6

so much conflict still e*ists bet"een religious groups6

some people can claim to ha#e a religious affiliation et do not belie#e in, or are indifferent to,the e*istence of a 7higher po"er.8

Kor some people, religion is the connection to +od or gods or some transcendent spirit. Kor others,

religion e%uates to a specific set of rituals and practices, some of "hich ha#e origins no" lost in themists of time. Kor et others, religion e%uates to a phsical church "ith members "ho are of the samesocial standing, sharing common beliefs, beha#iors and "orld #ie"s. Di&e beaut, or pornograph,e#erone "ill ha#e an idea of "hat that term means for them, et there is no consistent, uni#ersallapplicable definition that co#ers all religious traditions. As pointed out b the 4ntario onsultants onReligious Tolerance (""".religioustolerance.org), all commonl used definitions of 7religion8 containat least one deficienc. ome might e*clude beliefs that are "idel percei#ed to be religious. Thosetraditions that focus onl on belief in an in#ol#ed god or gods e*clude nontheistic religions such asBuddhism or onfucianism. =efinitions "hich e%uate religion onl "ith hristianit den the beliefs of2I' of the planets inhabitants. 4ther definitions include areas of stud such as colog or osmolog"hich are more correctl regarded as scientific disciplines.

Rather than tr and create et another complicated, cumbersome, and incomplete definition, ! "ill use adifferent approach. hat are the functions that religions all ha#e in common, and can "e see e#idencesof these same functions in ancient cultures3 !t turns out that all religions ser#e multiple functions in theli#es of indi#idual people and human communities.


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Ta&en together, ans"ers to the great %uestions, e*planations of the natural "orld, and "as ofinterceding "ith the di#ine, result in beliefs. The three remaining functions relate to the social contract

that e*ists bet"een an indi#idual and societ. Cot all faith traditions pursue each function to the samedegree. stems such as onfucianism and hinto place strong emphasis on harmon and communitstabilit "hile lea#ing the pondering of great %uestions up to the indi#idual. Buddhism places a strongemphasis on moral beha#ior and encourages indi#iduals to see& their o"n path to transcendence(connecting "ith the supernatural). Religious beliefs are largel uni%ue to an indi#idual as the are notbased on obFecti#e, reproducible e#idence, and thus cannot easil be shared. Religion, on the otherhand, is a group acti#it.

ome scholars "ould raise ritual to an essential characteristic of religion and certainl most faithtraditions engage in ritual practices. >o"e#er, under the scheme described here, rituals deri#e fromhigher le#el functions in this case, methods for interceding "ith the supernatural, and creating strongindi#idual and group identit. 4thers argue that the gi#ing of Fo or a sense of tran%uilit are a function

of religion. Again, these feelings "hich #ar from indi#idual to indi#idual are the secondar effects ofhigher le#el functions. Being accepted into a religious communit strengthens our personal identit,fre%uentl leading to feelings of contentment and happiness. Keelings of Fo or ecstas associated "ithreligious e*pression are the result of practices, de#eloped o#er millennia, "hich allo" practitioners toachie#e altered states of consciousness related to the search for "as to connect "ith the supernatural(discussed more full belo").

The functions pro#ided b religion tend not to be standalone attributes, but are interrelated, often incomple* "as. Krom an e#olutionar perspecti#e, the comple* interrelationship bet"een thesefunctions demonstrates that religion and religious beha#iors did not ha#e a single cause. ach of thesefunctions also can be pro#ided b other societal institutions and functions. ;hilosoph, shorn of specificreligious trappings and supernatural agents, addresses the great %uestions of human life. Marious

meditati#e practices outside of an formal religious conte*t can pro#ide the practitioner "ith a sense ofconnection to a higher plane of e*istence. cience has been sho"n to do a much better Fob than religiousbeliefs and traditions "hen it comes to understanding the natural "orld. >o"e#er, science fails as a tool"hen it comes to ans"ering 7ultimate %uestions.8 a#anaugh (200@) sho"s con#incingl that manhuman social sstems and philosophies such as nationalism, communism, rationalism, fascism canmimic religion in promoting indi#idual or communit identit and stabilit, including the imposition ofspecific re%uired beha#iors. These 7isms8, ho"e#er, fall short "hen it comes to ans"ering the great

o"e#er, it also resulted in a compulsion to e*plain "h e#erthing is the "a it is.uriosit gi#es rise to both scientific e*ploration, and religious reasoning (mth ma&ing). hen data area#ailable, logic pro#ides a cause and effect e*planation. hen data are lac&ing, incomplete, ore%ui#ocal, "e still "ant ans"ers and this leads to speculation, to the proFection of humancharacteristics and interests, resulting in beliefs Sa belief is something held to be factualItrue in theabsence of e#idence.

!n 1@th entur urope, the method of ac%uiring &no"ledge "e no" call cience came into being. !npart, this ne" "a of loo&ing at the "orld "as a conse%uence of the ;rotestant Reformation "hichdemonstrated the fallibilit of religious authorit. cientific in#estigation "as also spurred on b theacceleration of international trade, e*ploration, and con%uest. These forces dro#e ad#ances in5mathematics, astronom, and chronometr for na#igation6 optics6 material science for ne" trade goodsand better tools6 mining6 and industrial processes. !ncreasing &no"ledge of ho" the "orld "or&sbecame the underpinning of a ne" socioeconomic sstem that continues to this da.

The scientific method initiall "as based on "hat "ere inherentl religious premises

U +od is rational, not capricious6

U nature (+odEs creation) operates b a fi*ed set of un#aring principles "hich can be studied andunderstood6 and

U all natural phenomena ha#e a cause "hich can be deduced logicall from the processes of thenatural "orld.

:athematics became the &e to understanding nature, and the most po"erful demonstration of the age"as Ce"tons abilit to predict precisel the motions of the planets.

The results of the scientific re#olution are ob#ious. #er maFor technological inno#ation andcon#enience "e ta&e for granted in our dail li#es is the result of the scientific e*ploration of the

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uni#erse around us follo"ing a structured process of as&ing %uestions, prediction, testing, obser#ation,and #alidation. >o"e#er, despite the fact that our modern li#es depend on it, Rationalism, the idea thatthe uni#erse can be studied and e*plained b the methods of science, has ne#er reall caught on "ith themaForit of humans. :ost people see natural e#ents as someho" personal, and purposeful. ho"ing thatnatural phenomena ha#e natural causes is a demonstration that +od is not directl in#ol#ed. This comestoo close to saing 7ou cant ha#e a personal god.8 ;eople "ant to belie#e that the can influencee#ents in their li#es b supplication to a supernatural po"er. Rationalism places responsibilit for ouractions (and their conse%uences) bac& on the indi#idual. There is no appeal (in either sense of the "ord).

hen e*planations of the natural "orld become inter"o#en "ith, and integral to, ans"ers for the great%uestions, or the nature of the di#ine, then conflicts arise. Marious faith traditions ha#e gi#en phsicaldimensions to deities, mthical e#ents, and promised end times "hich are unsupportable b scientificin#estigation. !f one aspect of a belief sstem is called into %uestion or is negated b scientificobser#ation then it can call into %uestion the entire belief sstem. If the *arden of Eden did not exist!then the stor# of original sin is just that! a stor#. %nd if original sin is a fiction! how can there be

salvation& %nd without salvation! how can there be eternal life&4nce one part of a mthic traditioncollapses, the entire fabric of belief can unra#el unless reinforced b other rationali9ations. Belief in apersonal, in#ol#ed deit is so satisfing, so essential, that itEs "orth promoting erroneous arguments

against science and the &no"ledge of the natural "orld that science brings. Belief in a personal godnegates an moti#ation for people to become scientificall literate.

#olutionar biologist, tephen . +ould, proposed that science and religion constituted separate andseparable "as of &no"ing 7nono#erlapping magisteria8. !n this conception, the t"o approaches to&no"ledge need ne#er be in conflict as the address different areas of human in%uir. The realit is #erdifferent than this ideal. !t is significant that at the start of the 21st entur nearl -0 of Americansprofess a belief in a god, and 0 dont &no" that the arth re#ol#es around the sun and ta&es one earto complete a circuit (cientific American, 200@). According to a 2001 sur#e b the Cational Academof cience, nearl @0 of Americans do not understand the basics of the scientific method6 and fullG said that their &no"ledge of the de#elopment of life on arth Vcame from religious teaching.V !n200G, the Cational cience Koundation reported that the publics &no"ledge of science in the $nited

tates is not impro#ing. ur#e respondentsE abilit to ans"er most %uestions about science hasremained essentiall unchanged since the 1--0s, "ith one e*ception5 more people no" &no" thatantibiotics do not &ill #iruses. on#ersel, belief in pseudoscience astrolog, e*tra sensor perception,crstal healing, and alien encounters is on the rise.

cience brings clarit and increasingl certain understandings. But it also brings ambiguit andrecognition of uncertaint scientific e*planations are al"as tentati#e. Kor someone "ho see&sabsolutes, science can be unner#ing. cience e*poses the comple*it of the "orld around us, anathemato those "ho "ant onl simple ans"ers.

Cot e#er faith tradition is threatened b the methods and understandings of the natural "orld pro#idedb science. !n his 200 boo&, The $ni#erse in a ingle Atom, the =alai Dama states5 ,If scientific

analsis were conclusivel to demonstrate certain claims in #uddhism to be false" then we mustaccept the findings of science and abandon those claims", he writes. No one who wants to understand

the world ,can ignore the basic insights of theories as ke as evolution" relativit and -uantum

mechanics.,

!n the hristian "orld, no lesser figure than =r. :artin Duther ?ing r. (1-/1) noted5 *oftmindednessoften invades religion. ... *oftminded persons have revised the #eautitudes to read ,#lessed are the

pure in ignorance for the shall see /od., +his has led to a widespread belief that there is a conflict

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between science and religion. #ut this is not true. +here ma be a conflict between softminded

religionists and toughminded scientists" but not between science and religion. ... *cience investigates

religion interprets. *cience gives humankind knowledge which is power religion gives humankind

wisdom which is control. *cience deals mainl with facts religion deals mainl with values. +he two

are not rivals. +he are complementar.

Rules for &oral 'eha(iorAll social species ha#e beha#iors that promote the stabilit and securit of the immediate group, be itherd, troop, or tribe. These beha#iors include dominance hierarchies, mating preferences, access tospecific foods, defensi#e response to e*ternal threats, and leadership of group mo#ements. Thesebeha#iors appear mostl to be 7hard "ired8 into indi#iduals, although in certain primates more comple*social beha#iors (e.g., cooperation, compassion, trust) are at least partl learned. !n some of our closestrelati#es "e ha#e obser#ations of food sharing, use of simple tools to impro#e food suppl and %ualit,and #arious coerci#e measures to reduce male aggression (e.g., b female bonobos). A &e element ofcomple* cooperati#e strategies is the abilit to put oneself into the mind of another. ;schologists callthis abilit to understand "hat someone else is feeling a 7Theor of :ind.8 :odern human childrenbegin to de#elop this abilit around age 2, but it isnEt full de#eloped until age /. 4ur primate cousins,

the chimpan9ees, bonobos, and baboons ha#e at least a rudimentar form of this characteristic.

Homo neanderthalensisapparentl cared for elderl and inFured indi#iduals, and buried their dead "ithgreat respect (Tattersall, 1--). Ceanderthal remains sho" a high fre%uenc of fractures (ribs, spine,fibula, s&ull) possibl due to the highl phsical and aggressi#e hunting strategies the emploed. 4ftenthe bone fractures are healed and sho" little sign of infection, suggesting that the inFured indi#iduals"ere cared for until the reco#ered. learl, moral beha#ior "as in place long before our speciesarri#ed on the scene.

Di&e religion, moral beha#ior can be difficult to define in a "a that all "ould agree. :oralit andmoral conduct are tpicall defined in terms of right and "rong beha#iors, but al"as "ithin the conte*tof a social group. !n a religious conte*t, actions are sometimes referred to as good and e#il. These

terms ha#e meaning onl in a human frame"or&, and cannot legitimatel be ascribed to other socialspecies, or to nature at large. >urricanes, as much as the ma cause us harm, are not e#il, althoughman peoples, ancient and modern "ould term destructi#e natural e#ents the "or& of e#il spirits orangr deities. 4ften, moralit means a code of conduct held to be authoritati#e, "hether b societ,philosoph, religion, or indi#idual conscience. According to this #ie", moral beha#ior is not absolute,but arises in response to cultural norms and e*pectations. #er human culture for the past @,000Wears has had to figure out ho" to balance the needs of the group "ith the selfish desires of indi#idualgroup members, creating the 7ocial ontract8 (Ardre, 1-@0). There is constant tension bet"een thedesire of the indi#idual for personal benefit and gratification, and the group for cohesion and stabilit.This social contract has necessitated the de#elopment of comple* social rules to go#ern comple*,non7hard"ired8 beha#iors. To this end, e#er human culture has de#eloped rules for proper beha#ior

"ithin that culture. An e*ample of the lac& of a uni#ersal moral code is the 2011 decision b a numberof "estern and Arab nations to impose a 7nofl 9one8 o#er Diba. :ost (not all) countries ga#e at leastlip ser#ice to a condemnation of olonel :oamar Qaddafis #iolence against his o"n people. omecountries "ere "illing to allo" an act of genocide occur for reasons that ranged from a belief thatmilitar force should ne#er be used against another countr, to a fear of being in#ol#ed in an unendingconflict in a failed state.

hat "ere the forces dri#ing the de#elopment of human moral beha#ior3 hen did moralit arise

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among the hominids3 The in#ention of ne" rules for enhanced cooperation "ithin human groups"ould ha#e paralleled increases in brain si9e. Darger brains meant more difficult labor and deli#er,"ith the oung being born less mature. This in turn led to a longer childhood re%uiring adult nurturingand protection, and the teaching of comple* social 7rules8. The trend to"ard larger brains began "ithhomo erectus. e &no" that homo erectusli#ed in groups in man different climatic 9ones, made andused stone tools, probabl hunted small game (as "ell as sca#enging the &ills of other animals), ande#entuall learned ho" to control fire. This implies a comple*it of social organi9ation beond allpresent da nonhuman primates.

The abilit for smbolic thought and speech, the control of fire, and the in#ention of carring de#ices(s&in bags, "o#en reedsIgrasses, e#en large lea#es) allo"ed earl humans to create ne" forms ofsubsistence based on a centrali9ed 7camp8 and foraging parties. Anthropologist, Richard Borsa Dee(1-@-) proposed the concept of 7resource e%changeas the basis behind much of modern human moralbeha#ior. hen "e loo& at other primate species "e note that indi#iduals act largel in their o"n selfinterest "hen it comes to the dail acti#ities of food gathering and consumption. Kood items areconsumed on the spot, and sharing is limited b constraints of culture and phsical abilities. >umanforaging groups, ho"e#er, operate on a totall different model. !ndi#iduals go out dail to gather plantfoods or to hunt and, "hile some food ma be consumed on the spot, most is collected and brought bac&

to central camp "here it is shared out in an e%uitable fashion among all group members. These ne"forms of subsistence made it possible to gi#e e*tended care to the oung, the elderl, and the infirm.

Homo sapiensha#e been able to dominate the planet, and to li#e and thri#e in more en#ironments thanan other higher plant or animal species (bacteria are at home in more places across the globe thanhumans). This is because "e e#ol#ed the abilit to "or& together in small social groups for the commonbenefit, "hich in turn promoted the de#elopment of ne" technologies (fire, clothing, comple* tools,d"ellings, domestication of plants and animals). !n humans, imagination allo"s us to predict multipleoutcomes for an specific action. !ndi#idual humans, in see&ing to ma*imi9e personal gratification orstatus, e*ercise a much broader range of actions matched to #aried social situations than members ofother hominid species. This range of intentional actions is "hat philosophers and theologians "ouldterm 7free "ill8.

These remar&able adaptations had a number of positi#e conse%uences for our species (and probabl forancestral human species as "ell). The de#elopment of an e*change econom pa#ed the "a for moreand more comple* societies and methods of subsistence. These comple*ities in turn dro#e thede#elopment of e%uall comple* rules of beha#ior to retain the cohesion of the basic human group.4ur closest relati#es amongst the primates (chimps, bonobos, baboons, gorillas) li#e in relati#el smallgroups. Baboon troops of up to 10 indi#iduals ha#e been obser#ed, although most primate groupsrarel e*ceed 0 indi#iduals. learl, cultural factors ha#e supplanted the limitations of our biolog.>umans, on the other hand, ha#e created e*traordinaril large cooperati#e groups. >ill, et al. (2011)identif se#eral distincti#e features of human societies #ersus the other primates5

human groups are al"as part of nested structures of alliances6 most primate societies are are

independent, singlegroup structures.

nearl all human groups are communities of families formed b monogamous partners, a patternnot seen in other primates.

in most primates, either the males or females mo#e as adolescents into ne" groups6 brothers andsisters stop interacting around pubert. !n humans, strong familial ties bet"een siblings are lifelong.

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bonobos and chimps are se*uall promiscuous, and patrilineal &in do not recogni9e each other.

The human famil group re%uired to nurture children o#er an e*tensi#e time period led toenduring associations bet"een mothers and fathers. hildren not onl &ne" "ho their fathersare, the also &no" their fatherEs relati#es. >umans maintain preferential bonds "ith their inla"s.

Thus, humans ha#e created a nested set of genealogical groups. As oung males and females mo#edinto other human groups, the carried these famil ties "ith them, e*tending the bonds of &inship andalle#iating intergroup conflicts.

Coren9aan and hariff (200/) note5

0'ultural evolution" driven b between(group competition for resources and habitats" has favored

large groups. However" large groups" which until recentl lacked institutionali&ed social(monitoring

mechanisms" are vulnerable to collapse because of high rates of freeloading 1/intis" et al." 2334). If

unwavering and pervasive belief in morali&ing gods buffered against such freeloading" then belief in

such gods should be more likel in in larger human groups where the threat of freeloading is most

acute.e cant &no" the specific social rules our remote ancestors li#ed b, or "hen the first came intoe*istence. e can, ho"e#er, get a hint of the di#ersit of moral and ethical sstems that must ha#ee*isted around the "orld b loo&ing at todas foraging peoples.The small huntergatherer bands ofHhuIt"asi of the ?alahari =esert region ha#e a "ell de#eloped cosmolog and set of beliefs, buttheir approach to setting rules of conduct for indi#iduals and the group is based on practical realit,not di#ine edict. hen as&ed about "here their rules of beha#ior come from, a member of the group"ill ans"er that, 7its custom8, or 7that is the "a it has al"as been done.8 There is little concept ofo"nership amongst these desert d"ellers as "e thin& of the term in "estern cultures. Being nomads"ho carr on their bac&s all their "orldl possessions, the HhuIt"asi do not ha#e a sense of pri#atepropert of 7mine #s. ours.8 >andcrafted items are e*changed freel and "ith regularit this

open e*change being an important component in cementing cooperation among members of a groupand bet"een groups. A group that inhabits a particular range consists of a famil core, the &8ausi,that belong to that particular territor. This tpe of o"nership is hereditar. !f one HhuIt"asi groupenters the resource area of another group, custom dictates that the as& permission to gather food or,especiall, "ater. ;ermission is almost ne#er refused because of &in ties, but reciprocit is e*pected.Kamil decisions are based on consensus, and more "eight is gi#en to e*perience and "isdom thanto gender "hen ma&ing a decision. Both men and "omen can be healers, going into trances to enterthe spirit "orld "here the see& to dri#e out the source of affliction in a group member ta&en ill.omen ha#e the principle role in rearing oung children, but fathers displa great affection for theiroffspring, plaing "ith them and la#ishing them "ith phsical attention. Acts of #iolence (e.g.,murder, rape) bet"een group members, "hile not unheard of, are rare. The e*tended famil group

uses shame and ridicule to &eep indi#iduals from acting in a selfish manner.Aboriginal Australians tend to"ard patrilocal (male dominated) societies. Their moral sstem is basedon their intimate lin& to the natural "orld "hich supplies all their needs. =ail life for the aborigines is acontinuation of their creation stor. !n the remote past, during a period "hich has been translated into"estern languages as 7The =reamtime8, the spirit ancestors caused the "orld to come into being and, asthese ancestral spirits mo#ed o#er the face of the arth the 7sang8 into e*istence all of the naturalfeatures "e see around us toda the roc&s, hills, la&es, ri#ers, plants, animals, and people. hen the

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time of creation "as complete, the spirits merged "ith the natural forms the created, and d"ell therestill. Krom these stories the aborigines ha#e assumed the obligation to respect and care for the natural"orld as the respect and care for each other. !n the "ords of im Barripang custodian of the +olpaTribes territor and traditions (Moight and =rur, 1--/)5

7!borigine cant make law. It come from long time ago from the 5irst +ime. It can never changealwas the same. 6ur culture can never change" our 7aw can never change. 6nl people can change.

+he born... the die. #ut the law stas the same. 8ach person is responsible for 7aw for culture.ometimes rules of beha#ior are ascribed to the gods and set out in mths6 sometimes the are the edictsof rulers and priestesses6 sometimes the origins of an gi#en rule ma be lost to memor. :anauthoritarian religions impose specific rules of conduct on their follo"ers. These include5 the haria(Da") in !slam6 the 7Da"s of :oses8 in conser#ati#e udaism and hristianit6 ;apal decrees formodern atholics6 or re#elations of the ;resident of the hurch of Datter =a aints. Tradition andbelief hold that these rules are handed do"n b +od through the agenc of one or more prophetsIauthorities. Along "ith the imposed rules comes the implied or e*plicit threat of punishment fordisobedience. ometimes this punishment is meted out immediatel b religious authorities6 at othertimes the punishment is deferred to an afterlife, and sometimes a maFor calamit (e.g., a hurricane) isclaimed to be punishment for either indi#idual or group transgressions. 4ther religions and traditions

set more generali9ed e*pectations for beha#ior (e.g., 7the a8 of onfucianism) and lea#e it up toindi#idual adherents to find their o"n moral path and balance "ithin the conte*t of their social group orcommunit.

Bering (200ebre"s as a failure to ha#e li#ed up to the e*pectations of their +od.

Ceuropschologist, ames . ;rescott (1-@) e*amined attributes related to #iolence in G- traditionalcultures as "ell as 20th entur Americans. >e found that societies "hich gi#e their infants the greatestamount of phsical affection, and those "hich accept or tolerate premarital se*ual freedom for oungpeople ha#e less theft and #iolence among adults. ultures "hich inflict pain on infants and condemnpremarital and e*tramarital se* are much more li&el to5 practice sla#er, polgn, and "ife purchase6e*perience interpersonal #iolence (including rape)6 demean "omen6 substitute drugs and alcohol forse*ual pleasure6 and belie#e that pain helps build strong moral character. Rigid #alues of monogam,

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chastit, and #irginit strongl correlate "ith high le#els of phsical #iolence in a societ. ulturespracticing phsical affection tend to ha#e more open and accepting religious beliefs. ultures "hichengage in regular phsical punishment of children and shun phsical affection bet"een adults are muchmore li&el to "orship an angr, punishing deit. ocial net"or&s researcher, aime ettle, andcolleagues at the $ni#ersit of alifornia at an =iego, found that American teens "ith a #ariant of adopamine receptor gene, &no"n as+,+-,, "ere significantl more li&el than others to describethemsel#es as 7liberal8 (2010). This gene #ariant has been associated "ith no#elt see&ing and liberalsare #ie"ed as being more progressi#e and more recepti#e to ne" ideas. A critical mediating factor inthis tendenc, ho"e#er, "as the number of friends a teen reported loners "ere more li&el to bepoliticall conser#ati#e than their no#elt see&ing peers. Thus, there is a suggestion that moral "orld#ie"s ma ha#e at least a small genetic component.

!n the end, ho"e#er, all moral codes e#er spo&en or "ritten ha#e come from the minds and hands ofhuman beings. Regardless of the di#ine inspiration "e ma choose to assign to an set of moralprinciples, "e ma&e up the rules our societ needs for an set of circumstances. Through pla ande*ploration, our oung learn aspects of moral beha#ior. Another "a "e learn is to "atch the beha#iorsof the adults in our li#es, follo"ing the adage, 7actions spea& louder than "ords.8

!n a modern, pluralistic societ it is possible to ha#e multiple moral #ie"points and beha#iors all #alid.

There is often broad latitude in interpretation of the rules and their applicabilit to meet the e*pectationsof the culture "ithin "hich the religious communit resides. A set of rules that are #alid and necessar inone age ma become un"ield or inappropriate as a societ and its composition changes. This meansthat our specific moral codes "ill change o#er time as the nature and comple*it of our socialorgani9ations changes. Kor e*amples of the e#olution of moral sstems and modern religions fromearlier traditions, see The +reat Transformation b ?aren Armstrong (200


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Identity - Indi(idual and )rou

The section on the great %uestions demonstrated the pschological need of all humans for an e*pressidentit. !n earl foraging societies, this identit "as pro#ided b the social group, the e*tended famil,the tribe. The "orld for an indi#idual in these groups "as greatl proscribed the hills and #alles, or astrip of coastline "ithin or < dasE "al&, and onl those closel related groups of people "ho inhabitedthem. :aintaining a tightl &nit group has a strong e#olutionar basis. !ndi#iduals are more li&el to

beha#e altruisticall to"ard those "ith "hom the ha#e the closest ties, thus protecting a common genepool. The greater the difference of one group from another in terms of beha#iors and phsicalappearance, the more these 7others8 are percei#ed as a threat. Kor our ancestors, strangers coulddestabili9e the close&nit group structure. The represented competition for the groups food and "aterresources. The might also be percei#ed as being a potential threat to phsical safet. lose &in groups,those "ith "hom mates "ere e*changed on a regular basis, represented #er little threat, and could e#enbe called upon for aid in times of need (drought, famine, conflict). Danguage, customs, bod adornment(tattoos, Fe"eler), clothing stle, hair stle, all ser#ed to distinguish friend from foe. omeone outsidethe &in group "ho spo&e differentl, had different phsical features, "ore different ornaments and dress,or "orshiped different deities, "as a competitor for food or mates. The simple e*pedient "as to chasesuch strangers a"a, or e#en &ill them. This is the "a homo sapiensbeha#ed for - of our histor.

!n ancient cultures there "as no distinction made bet"een religious identit and social group identit,because there "ould be a uniformit of beliefs across the local communit or group. hate#er thestories, the legends, the %uestions and e*planations, and beliefs of the famil group, the filled out the"orld #ie" of each group member and became "o#en into their sense of self. Cor did earl humansha#e alternati#e social groups to gi#e them identit, as "e do toda. hared rituals, dressIornaments,incantations, and stories (mths) strongl supported both indi#idual and group identit. 7! am a memberof the Bear lan.8 7e are the children of the :other +oddess.8 The shaman or intercessor "ith thespirit "orld ser#ed all e%uall.

;ersonal identit is an indi#idual phenomenon, Fust as group identit is limited to the group. As groupsget larger, the split, often subtl, into multiple groups. These groups ma share broad traits (beliefs,rituals, dress) in common, but de#elop their o"n uni%ue 7local8 identit b "hich members identif andinteract "ith each other. Coren9aan and hariff (200/) in their o#er#ie" of the origin and e#olution ofreligious prosocialit, comment that 7stricter8 religious sects tend to ha#e higher le#els of attendanceand greater monetar contributions (e#en if follo"ers ha#e lo"er incomes) than less strict sects. Thealso %uote from one stud of religious and secular communes in 1-thentur America. The religiouscommunes studied imposed t"ice as man costl re%uirements on their members (in social terms) thansecular ones. These re%uirements included5 food taboos and fasts, and constraints on materialpossessions, marriage, se*, and contact "ith the outside "orld. !n short, religious communes re%uiredthat their members deri#e their indi#idual identities solel from membership in the commune. Thereligious communes tended to ha#e significantl greater longe#it, regardless of religious orphilosophical doctrine, than the secular ones. hile the results of this stud sho" onl correlation, notcausalit, the are highl suggesti#e of the po"er of identit as a 7glue8 for holding groups together.tar& (200/), in his sur#e of religion in America, found that 7strict churches that re%uire members toli#e according to certain moral rules are popular because their members are more committed to thechurchEs success.8 :embers of strict churches (bans on pornograph, abortion, and premarital se*)report better attendance, more tithing, and more friends from "ithin the congregation. illingacceptance of these strict rules had to "ith more than Fust the social contract bet"een the group and eachmember. !f ou ha#e one dominant source for our personal identit, ou "ill hold a strong allegianceto that group, regardless of the demands made on ou. !f ou ha#e t"o or more groups to feed our

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personal identit, then ou are more li&el to mo#e our allegiance to the group(s) "hose social contractis more fa#orable to ou as an indi#idual.

;eople can also be dra"n together if their chosen beliefs and ritual practices are at odds "ith the largercommunit the li#e in and the are #ie"ed discriminatoril. uropean e"s, follo"ing the Romanperiod and the final destruction of their temple in erusalem, "ere singled out for abuse b both secularand religious authorities because the refused to gi#e up or modif their rituals and beliefs. B holding

to these beliefs and practices, the e"s "ere able to retain a strong sense of group and indi#idual identitin spite of #arious pogroms o#er the centuries that sought their e*termination. Because of this strongsense of identit, udaism toda remains one of the "orldEs great religions. Cati#e American peoplesha#e also sought recentl to reclaim the belief sstems and practices of their ancestors as a "a ofestablishing a uni%ue identit "ithin modern 21stentur American societ.

Ritual is a po"erful tool for maintaining social cohesion and stabilit, and for promoting a strong groupidentit. +roups "ith highl rituali9ed practices (churches, the militar, fraternal organi9ations) generateconsiderable loalt among their adherents. Kor the better part of a centur, American public schoolchildren ha#e been re%uired to recite the ;ledge to the Klag dail under the assumption that this "illinspire loalt to the countr. !n earl hristian churches, onl members "ho had undergone the longperiod of indoctrination and e*orcism leading to baptism could parta&e of the ucharist meal or enter

;aradise (Broc& and ;ar&er, 200/).

Ritual practices ha#e also been used to e*clude outsiders, those "ho ha#e not been initiated, reinforcingour innate *enophobia, the fear of people "ho are someho" different from 7us8. e#ent millenniaago, being able to distinguish bet"een group members and outsiders "as highl ad#antageous as itprotected a specific set of genetic characteristics and a finite set of phsical resources. >o"e#er, in anage of global trade and the abilit to "age global "ar "ith "eapons of mass destruction, this tendencto"ard *enophobia is not onl counterproducti#e, its do"nright dangerous. >umans ha#e come up"ith some remar&able sstems for controlling beha#ior so that "e can li#e and "or& together in largecommunities (religion being one e*ample) but "e ha#ent et left our basic primate natures behind.

!n modern times, the shared identit pro#ided b religious affiliation is one of the strongest forces in

peoples li#es. !ndi#iduals identif "ith the rituals of communal praer, meditation, fasting, pilgrimages,liturgical music and art, and the reciting of sacred te*ts. ;raer, not onl in church ser#ices, but beforeci#ic meetings, or at the dinner table, also ser#es to strengthen group identit a statement that 7"eshare the same beliefs and "ords.8 on#ersel, religious rituals can also promote *enophobia,especiall "hen the promote and reinforce the 7us #s. them8 mentalit. The more a faith traditiondefines and clings to a rigid and authoritarian doctrine, then the more other faith traditions "ithdifferent doctrines and beliefs are #ie"ed as threatening. >o" can one be assured of ha#ing theabsolute truth if ou ha#e to ac&no"ledge the e*istence (and possible #alidit) of competing truths3

Kor centuries, the atholic hurch enforced a rigid adherence to orthodo* and absolute authorit ofpope and priesthood. *ecutions of 7heretics8, defined as anone "ho held theological #ie"s differentthan the entrenched leadership, "ere commonplace. #en "hen the rusades introduced urope to the

!slamic "orld, and "hen trade "ith distant lands brought tra#elers into contact "ith 7e*otic8 beliefsstems, the hristian church authoritati#el declared these beliefs to be false. !n 1G, ;ope CicholasM issued a ;apal Bull,9omanus :ontife%, "hich ga#e to ?ing Alphonso M of ;ortugal the right 7toin#ade, search out capture, #an%uish, and subdue all aracens and pagans "hatsoe#er, and other enemiesof hrist "heresoe#er placed8 and to ta&e 7all mo#able and immo#able goods "hatsoe#er held andpossessed b them and to reduce their persons to perpetual sla#er, and to appl and appropriate tohimself and his successors... and to con#ert them to his and their use and profit.8

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!t "as onl in the mid100s .., "hen members of the clerg themsel#es became incensed "ith thesecular e*cesses of the church, that centrali9ed church authorit "as finall bro&en. >o"e#er, the;rotestant Reformation ser#ed onl to replace one authoritarian sstem "ith multiple ones, each see&ingto control the beliefs and actions of a de#oted group of follo"ers and to denigrate nonhristians.

ome cultures chose a path other than proselti9ation. !n the 1thentur . ., the hinese :ing=nast launched se#en #oages of trade and e*ploration under Admiral Hheng >e "ith the goal of

establishing trade "ith and cataloging the di#erse cultures around the !ndian 4cean and the southern;acific (Mi#iano, 200). Kollo"ing these encounters, the :ing imperial courts chose to ta&e their landinto isolation, and most records of these #oages "ere destroed as the empire fell into decline. Thehinese cultural identit "as preser#ed b closing off contact "ith the outside "orld.

+i#en the plethora of religious traditions, beliefs, and practices that ha#e occurred across the globe o#erthe breadth of human histor, it is clear that there has ne#er been one singular Right a or Truth. achculture has defined for itself "hat is meaningful, and the people of that culture ha#e established theirpersonal identities accordingl.

*ommunity and "ocial "ta+ility

4ne of the most significant benefits of religion for people, regardless of belief sstem, is the sense ofcommunit cohesion and support. >umans after all are a highl sociali9ed species of animal. e thri#ein association "ith famil and friends, and suffer "hen isolated. Research b staff of the =u&e$ni#ersit enter for piritualit, Theolog, and >ealth bears directl on this point. ;eople "ith strongreligious beliefs and regular church attendance "ere sho"n in one stud to ha#e lo"er blood pressure,stronger immune sstems, lo"er mortalit rates from cancer and heart disease, and slo"er mentaldecline "hen diagnosed "ith Al9heimers =isease. Regular church goers also reco#ered faster fromdepression and "ere less li&el to become seriousl depressed (?oenig, 200@). learl, organi9edreligion pro#ides measurable benefits in some people li#es.

>o"e#er, another stud b this same group of researchers loo&ed at @G/ patients undergoing

percutaneous coronar inter#ention or electi#e catheteri9ation in nine medical centers in the $.. !n thestud, '@1 patients "ere praed for and '@@ recei#ed no praer (at least no praer from the assignedintercessors in this stud). The findings indicated no difference for those praed for (#s. not praed for)on the li&elihood of inhospital maFor ad#erse cardio#ascular e#ents. imilarl, the in#estigatorsconcluded that neither distant intercessor praer nor touch therap had discernible effects on5 the rateof healing after surger6


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"e feel financiall secure, the less stressed "e are. ertainl the medical profession &no"s thatreduced stress is an important contributor to good health.

,utting it all Together

Religion seems to be an una#oidable conse%uence of those e#ol#ed traits that pro#ided sur#i#al

ad#antages for modern humans. Belief in supernatural causation of natural phenomena, and assignmentof human (or animal) characteristics to the supernatural forces "ere a logical outgro"th of the increasedsi9e and comple*it of the modern human brain. ith the de#elopment of comple* smbolic thought(and speech), imagination, curiosit, pattern see&ing abilit, and agent detection, 7religious8 thought"ould be a predictable outcome. !t is hard to concei#e that the human brains abilit to achie#e atranscendental state conferred a sur#i#al or reproducti#e ad#antage on our earl ancestors. After all,going into trances or imbibing pschoacti#e substances is not a normal state of being. Cor "ould allmembers of a famil or tribal group participate in the process someone has to stand "atch. Beliefs andrituals do not sta#e off predators in the night or enhance food gathering abilities. Rather, the abilit ofthe human mind to achie#e a transcendental state on occasion must simpl ha#e been a coincidental bproduct of our highl e#ol#ed brains and sensor organs.

The functions ser#ed b religion correspond to needs that define us as human beings. e "ouldnt behuman if "e didnt %uestion the "orld around us, and our place in it. e "ouldnt be human if "e couldsur#i#e easil "ithout a stable social group. e "ouldnt be human if "e didnt occasionall push theen#elope of acceptable beha#ior, or implore the forces controlling the "orld to ma&e our personal"ishes come true.

Religion pro#ides for man human needs, but often our religious beliefs pre#ent us from confronting"ho "e reall are. e cannot escape our roots. e can change our names, our place of residence, ourFobs, e#en our religious affiliation6 but "e cant change the realit that "e are Fust an e#ol#ed primate.Doo& at our closest simian relati#es6 "e differ from them in %uantitati#e, not %ualitati#e, "as. This isalso confirmed b comparison of the human genome "ith those of the great apes. 4ur supposedl7modern8 thought processes and actions, "hether as indi#iduals or groups, are built on million earsof e#ol#ed beha#iors.

Kor nearl


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no longer pro#iding a lin&age through their person directl "ith the di#ine (. ampbell, 1-//). Ritualsbecame codified in scriptural te*ts once "riting de#eloped and belief sstems gre" into organi9edreligions. Ritual practices included5 sacrifice to, and appeasement of, the spirits or gods6 praer andre%uests for personal intercession6 ritual "ashing6 and communion "ith, or consuming of, the godspirititself. As the si9es of human groups increased, religion as an institution "ith rituals, specified beliefsstems, and e#en a priest class de#oted to maintaining religious traditions became ad#antageous as atool for enforcing the 7social contract8 bet"een indi#iduals and societ. upernatural authorit "aspassed on to secular authorit in the form of a &ing or other ruler. Thus, moral codes in the form of la"sbecame e*plicitl associated "ith the "ishes of the di#ine.

Religions are ne#er static6 the e#ol#e and ta&e on the character of the cultures "hich adopt them.oseph ampbell (1-//) also points out the recurrence of mthic elements and themes across time andacross cultures. udaism and earl hristianit dre" mthic elements and themes from other, older:editerranean and Cear ast traditions. The creation mth in +enesis 1 dra"s from the umerianEnuma Elish. The tale of :oses in the 4ld Testament parallels the legends surrounding ?ing argon ofA&&ad. Mirgin birth, immaculate conception, death and resurrection are found both in the stor of esusand in some of the first millennium B... stories associated "ith the ;ersian +od :ithras. Kigurati#econsumption of the flesh and blood of the deit is an outgro"th of the idea that eating specific animals

or their organs "ill confer special po"ers and abilities. Throughout most of human histor there "ereas man different gods as there "ere cultures to concei#e of them. The idea of a singular god is arelati#e ne"comer on the human scene. 4ne of the earliest conceptions "as the aborti#e #enture intomonotheism b the ancient gptians under Ce" ?ingdom ;haroah A&henaton, a.&.a. Amenhotep !M(1'2 1''< B...). The earl >ebre"s ac&no"ledged poltheism the legends restated in the boo&sof +enesis and *odus tal& of 7elohim8 (gods in the plural sense), and of ha#ing 7no other god beforeme.8 A trul monotheistic concept does not appear in Biblical te*ts until the


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7+his act of choice ( which the term heresoriginall meant ( leads back to the problem thatorthodo% was invented to solve How can we tell truth from lies? What is genuine" and

connects us with one another and realit" and what is shallow" self(serving or evil? !none

who has seen foolishness" sentimentalit" delusion" or murderous rage disguised as /ods

truth knows that there is no eas answer to the problem that the ancients called discernment

of spirits. 6rthodo% tends to distrust our capacit to make such discriminations and insistson making them for us. /iven the notorious human capacit for self(deception" we can" to

an e%tent" thank the church for this. ;an of us" wishing to be spared hard work" gladl

accept what tradition teaches.

Rationalists in the 1@th and 1/th enturies reFected the concept of a personal god and embraced thepre#iousl heretical notion that the goal of human life should be happiness. B the end of the 1-thentur, thoughtleaders such as Ciet9sche and Kreud predicted that traditional religion "ould disappearas the "orld of science unra#eled the msteries of the uni#erse. learl that has not happened. !n 21stentur America -0 of the population professes some form of religious belief. hat is the staing

po"er of religion in the human e*perience3 h is it still such a dominant force in the li#es of people3The simple ans"er is that the multiple, interconnected functions of religion are as important in peoplesli#es toda as the "ere to our ancestors. Religion is, at its heart, a response to fear fear of theun&no"n, fear of death, fear of strangers, fear of uncertaint, fear of loneliness. e are bombarded belectronic images from all around the "orld and across the street "hich, if #ie"ed uncriticall, cancon#ince us that humanit is headed into chaos. The larger "orld "ith its comple*it is a terrifingplace to man.

;eople gra#itate to"ard faith traditions and churches "hich support and promote their learned biases and#alues. =eism, the idea of an unin#ol#ed god is embraced more b intellectuals "ho see the di#ine assurpassing human comprehension. Theism is embraced b those "ho "ant a more approachable god"ith "hom the can ha#e a personal relationship. Those "ho are the most fearful regardless of the

nature of that fear "ill gra#itate to"ard the more authoritarian faith traditions. The "ant to &no" thatsomeone is in charge, that someone cares about them personall, and that someone "ill "atch o#er theirfamil and friends, punishing transgressors. !n return, these people "ill embrace "hate#er beliefs,rituals, and practices are necessar to assure the good graces of the di#ine. Kearful of comple*it andthe pace of modern life3 Donging for simple blac& and "hite rules3 Then a fundamentalist faith(hristian, e"ish, :uslim, or >indu the fla#or matters less than the fer#or) is for ou. Al"as%uestioning and searching for our o"n ans"ers3 omfortable "ith ambiguit and di#ersit of#ie"points3 Then, ou might "ant to tr Buddhism, the Qua&ers, $nitarian $ni#ersalism, oronfucianism. Di&e being part of the right group and "illing to let others "restle "ith the fine points oftheolog3 Xou might feel most comfortable in a mainstream ;rotestant or atholic congregation.

A problem arises "hen the purposes of religion the functions it ser#es in human li#es get out of

balance. Religion promotes indi#idual and group identit, communit stabilit, and proper norms ofbeha#ior. 4n the plus side, belonging to, and being accepted b, a group impro#es health and the %ualitof life, and also addresses some of our most basic pschological needs as a species. >o"e#er,identifing strongl "ith one group often ma&es people see themsel#es as 7better8 than others classic*enophobia. A continuing tension e*ists bet"een strengthening communit and indi#idual identit andthe call to respect all people and their #aried belief sstems. +i#en that e#erthing is about me, "hshould ! ta&e the time to learn about others, their needs and interests3 >o" does that benefit me3 #en

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"hen ! &no" that others are loo&ing out for m interests, isnEt that the "a it should be3 h should !reciprocate, especiall "hen ! might be incon#enienced3

Religion is beneficial "hen it5

U promotes %uestioning and imagination in a safe, supporti#e communit6

U recogni9es the importance of ADD rituals in human life, not Fust those of one distinct group6

U recogni9es the needs "hich all humans ha#e in common6

U recogni9es and affirms multiple truths6 and

U promotes common #alues and "as for all people, from all traditions, to come together.

Religion becomes dangerous "hen5

U a set of beliefs become ossified6

U ritual and imposed doctrineIpractice become a primar source of indi#idual identit6

U e*ternal authorit becomes more important than internal reflection and e*ploration6

U differences (beliefs, rituals) are emphasi9ed o#er similarities dri#ing *enophobia6 and

U one faith tradition tries to impose its beliefs and practices on people outside that tradition.

:an faith traditions (e*tinct as "ell as current) ha#e promoted themsel#es as being in possession of theabsolute TR$T>, or of the final re#elation of the di#ine. These traditions consider themsel#es to be the

chosen people of their deit. All others, b e*clusion, are either lost, or heretics, or e#il, or some otherpeForati#e. 4f course, if one steps bac& and loo&s at the great panopl of religions that ha#e come andgone, it is clear that there are no uni#ersal beliefs, and no uni#ersal truths.

>o" does promotion of an absolute truth threaten peace and social Fustice3 As noted earlier in thisdiscussion, all of the functional elements of religion are interrelated. !f one group considers that the arein possession of the absolute truth, then all claims to the truth b practitioners of other traditions must bereFected as false. 7!f ! accept that our truth ma be #alid, then it "ea&ens the absoluteness of m truth and that threatens m #er identit.8 !n this "orld #ie", onl one set of ans"ers to the great %uestions,and onl one set of rituals for interceding "ith the di#ine can be correct. Thus, onl one set of praers,rituals, smbols, and te*ts can be accepted. 4nl one e*planation of the natural "orld is correct. This isone reason "h, in the age of cience, a maForit of humans still cling to superstition ("ith some e#encalling for their superstitions to be taught as science in the public schools). All other practices andbeliefs, to the e*tent that the differ, are blasphemous. Kurther, in conser#ati#e traditions, onl oneinterpretation of the sacred te*ts and scriptures can be accepted as correct usuall the interpretation ofthe current authorit figure for that faith group. Kor adherents of a strict faith tradition, onl those "hodemonstrate allegiance to that traditions beliefs and practices can be accepted as part of the communit.=iscrimination against outsiders is tolerated, and ma e#en be promoted this in spite of the fact that thefounders of nearl all the "orlds maFor denominations called for embracing all people as e%uals.

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ertainl our primate brains often lead us to see& the comfort of a close group identit and the e*clusionof 7others8. But at the same time, our human brain, "ith its large prefrontal corte*, the seat of moraland ethical thought, allo"s us the opportunit to mo#e a"a from these more primiti#e beha#ioralresponses and to embrace the "ondrous di#ersit of the "orld around us. e are gi#en a choice as to theshape religion should ta&e in guiding our li#es. The onl closetouni#ersal moral principle (a.&.a.truth) comes in the form that "e recogni9e as 7+he /olden 9ule.This is the moral &ernel that sits atthe center of all the "orlds maFor religious traditions. !t is a truth that, if practiced sincerel and full,"ould result in uni#ersal respect for people, their #alues and traditions, their hopes, and their beliefs.

References

Ardre, Robert, 1-@0, The ocial ontract5 A personal in%uir into the e#olutionar sources of order anddisorder, Atheneum, Ce" Xor&, GG/p.

Armstrong, ?aren, 200ill, ?im R., et al., 2011, 7oresidence ;atterns in >unter+atherer ocieties ho" $ni%ue >umanocial tructure8, cience, Mol. ''1, pp 12/< 12/-.

>odder, =elbert >., and +regor D. >olmes, 1-/1, 7llen +. hite and the e#enthda Ad#entist

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hurch Misions or ;artialomple* ei9ures38 abstract presented at the 1-/1 meeting of the

American Academ of Ceurolog held in Toronto, anada.

>ouse, , Dandis ?R, and $mberson =., 1-//, 7ocial relationships and health8, cience, #ol. 2G1, pp.G0G.

?ing, Barbara ., 200@ #ol#ing +od5 A ;ro#ocati#e Mie" on the 4rigins of Religion, =oubleda, Ce"

Xor&, CX, 2@2 p.?ing, :artin Duther, r., 1-/1, trength to Do#e, Kortress ;ress, 1Gp.

?oenig, >. +., 200@, Religion and remission of depression in medical inpatients "ith heartfailureIpulmonar disease, ournal of Cer#ous and :ental =isease, #ol.1-, pp. '/-'-.

?rucoff :, rater , +allup =, Blan&enship , uffe :, +uarneri :, ?rieger RA,

?shettr MR, :orris ?, 49 :, ;ichard A, &etch :>, r., ?oenig >+, :ar& =, Dee ?D, 200,:usic, imager, touch, and praer as adFuncts to inter#entional cardiac care5 the :onitoring andActualisation of Coetic Trainings (:ACTRA) !! randomised stud. Dancet6 'ouse, Ce" Xor&, pp. 1/1

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