Science

Whence belief: How religious belief is created as a byproduct of the brain

There are basically two (nonsupernatural) theories about where religious belief and religion comes from. The first is that religion had a direct evolutionary advantage and, as such, ends up hardwired in our brains. The second is that religion is a chimera; simply a byproduct of normal, useful, cognitive processes.

For my money, we have a lot of solid data to support the latter and not a whole lot to support the former. At least when it comes to religious belief. Religion, or institutionalized belief, I think, is a whole other matter. Is that a side-effect of human socialization strategies, which do seem to have direct evolutionary advantages, or is an integral part of our socialization strategies, or something else altogether? Who knows?

In any case, here’s Andy Thomson talking at the 2009 American Atheists convention about how religion is a side-effect of normal cognitive processes. Via Pharyngula and Richard Dawkins.

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