Definitions of “Religion”

• Many • Modernist• Evolutionary: Minimalist & Maximalist

-- Do Work-- Have Consequences

Evolutionary Definitions

Minimalist (Byproduct)

• Spirit Ideas• Soul Beliefs• “Invisible Agents”

• Focus on Ideas

Maximalist (Adaptation)

• Ritual Practices• Emotional States • Transcendence• Morals/Ethics

• Focus on Practices

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)• 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

• Reliably Develops in All Humans• Automatic• Effortless• Super Fast• Habitual• Narrow Tasks

“Religion” Related Modules

• 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

• 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

• 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:

• Focus on Ideas• Individual Psychology• Cognitive Errors• Not an Adaptation

MODERN TYLORIANS

• Adaptationists:

• 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”

• Sedentism• Surpluses• Specialization• Stratification• Sickness• Slavery

• Sedentism• Surpluses

• Specialization• Stratification• Sickness• Suffering• Slavery

Neolithic Transitions & Scaling

Social Stratification

Neolithic Problems

• Legitimize Authority• Justify Difference• Maintain Power • Social Control• Social Conflict• Social Cohesion

• Group Mobilization

Neolithic “Religious” Responses

• 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”