Evolution_of_Religion

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College of New Jersey *

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170

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Anthropology

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Oct 30, 2023

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Uploaded by GeneralJellyfish4219

Evolution of Religion Many historians and anthropologists contend that all societies throughout history did not exist without religion. This is in part due to the fact that religion is something that has existed alongside society throughout recorded human history. Every society has had some form of developed religion and set of beliefs, making it a universal aspect within societies. These beliefs vary widely throughout different societies, but there are universal ideologies that come from all human beliefs and religions, implying an innate or genetic basis for why religion develops (Wade, 2009). This implication can be deduced simply due to the fact that one did not exist without the other, and therefore likely could not exist without each other. With a genetic basis for it, it makes sense why humans develop religion and other animals do not. The unique physiological processes of thought and cognition in humans may be wired in a way that religion is inevitable in any human and human societies, at least after modern humans evolved. Another possible reason that societies throughout history may not have existed without religion is that religion was a way to distract humans from killing each other in conflict or war. Thomas Hobbes contended that war was inevitable when religion or a common power did not distract or unite societies, and therefore religion prevented this bloodshed that could destroy said societies (Wade, 2009). This is in line with many theories of society including theories involving demographic transition theories. Societies progress when death rates become lower, because people dying too quickly destabilizes societies. Religion may have counteracted this death and warfare because people were able to ignore this supposed innate function for violence and warfare due to these shared beliefs. Another reason societies may not have existed without religion is that societies without religion may have been selected against, according to Dawkins (Wade, 2009). Similar to how

natural selection selects for the best fits to the environment, it may have selected for religious societies because they were more likely to survive. Combining various factors like decreased warfare, increased devotion to the group, and more cooperation in the name of religion, people in these religious societies likely had advantages over non-religious societies. This allowed the religious societies to prosper and survive and led to destruction of non-religious groups or societies, hence why we never see societies without religion. In my opinion, I agree with the genetic basis for religion described by Wade, mainly due to the fact that other animals do not exhibit religious behavior in the way humans do. And the fact that species close to humans exhibit warfare without religion, does provide extra evidence for this claim(Wade, 2009). It implies that warfare is manifest in humans and chimps, but the difference is that humans have the capability of developing religion, due to evolving differently from chimps. This allows for humans to avoid warfare through religion, unlike chimps are able to do. I disagree, however, that with religion, warfare ceases due to a distraction caused by unity under a deity or set of beliefs. I believe that morals can develop without religion, and many wars throughout history have been the direct result of religion, contradicting Hobbes’ statement on it. Overall, I believe that societies and religion existed because they are both innate in humans. Development of social groups, as well as religion is something that our cognitive and physiological processes inevitably causes us to develop. Why are we here? This is something that is innate in a human, whether they use religion to describe it or science. It is something fascinating and subjective, and can be discussed for ages without a definitive answer.