Religion, Crime and Punishment: An Evolutionary Perspective

Description

This book provides a critical discussion of the way in which religion influences: criminal and antisocial behaviour, punishment and the law, intergroup conflict and peace-making, and the rehabilitation of offenders. The authors argue that in order to understand how religion is related to each of these domains it is essential to recognise the evolutionary origins of religion as well as how genetic and cultural evolutionary processes have shaped its essential characteristics. Durrant and Poppelwell posit that the capacity of religion to bind individuals into socially cohesive ‘moral communities’ can help us to understand its complex relationship with cooperation, crime, punishment, inter-group conflict and forgiveness. An original and innovative study, this book will be of special interest to criminologists and other social scientists interested in the role of religion in crime, punishment, intergroup conflict and law. Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Why Religion Matters (Russil Durrant, Zoe Poppelwell)....Pages 1-17 Evolutionary Approaches to Understanding Religion (Russil Durrant, Zoe Poppelwell)....Pages 19-53 Religion, Crime, and Prosocial Behaviour (Russil Durrant, Zoe Poppelwell)....Pages 55-88 The Dark Side of Religion? Prejudice, Inter-Group Conflict, and War (Russil Durrant, Zoe Poppelwell)....Pages 89-126 Religion, Punishment, and the Law (Russil Durrant, Zoe Poppelwell)....Pages 127-160 Religion, Rehabilitation, and Reconciliation (Russil Durrant, Zoe Poppelwell)....Pages 161-184 Back Matter ....Pages 185-224