Breaking the Spell

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Contents Preface PART I OPENING PANDORA’S BOX i Breaking Which Spell? 1 What’s going on? 2 A working definition of religion 3 To break or not to break 4 Peering into the abyss 5 Religion as a natural phenomenon 2 Some Questions About Science 1 Can science study religion? 2 Should science study religion? 3 Might music be bad for you? 4 Would neglect be more benign? 3 Why Good Things Happen 1 Bringing out the best 2 Cui bono? 3 Asking what pays for religion 4 A Martian’s list of theories PART II THE EVOLUTION OF RELIGION 4 The Roots of Religion 1 The births of religions 2 The raw materials of religion 3 How Nature deals with the problem of other minds 5 Religion, the Early Days i Too many agents: competition for rehearsal space 2 Gods as interested parties 3 Getting the gods to speak to us 4 Shamans as hypnotists 5 Memory-engineering devices in oral cultures 6 The Evolution of Stewardship 1 The music of religion 2 Folk religion as practical know-how 3 Creeping reflection and the birth of secrecy in religion 4 The domestication of religions 7 The Invention of Team Spirit 1 A path paved with good intentions 2 The ant colony and the corporation 3 The growth market in religion 4 A God you can talk to 8 Belief in Belief 1 You better believe it 2 God as intentional object 3 The division of doxastic labor 4 The lowest common denominator? 5 Beliefs designed to be professed 6 Lessons from Lebanon: the strange cases of the Druze and Kim Philby 7 Does God exist? PART III RELIGION TODAY 9 Toward a Buyer’s Guide to Religions 1 For the love of God 2 The academic smoke screen 3 Why does it matter what you believe? 4 What can your religion do for you? 10 Morality and Religion 1 Does religion make us moral? 2 Is religion what gives meaning to your life? 3 What can we say about sacred values? 4 Bless my soul: spirituality and selfishness 11 Now What Do We Do? 1 Just a theory 2 Some avenues to explore: how can we home in on religious conviction? 3 What shall we tell the children? 4 Toxic memes 5 Patience and politics Appendixes A The New Replicators B Some More Questions About Science C The Bellboy and the Lady Named Tuck D Kim Philby as a Real Case of Indeterminacy of Radical Interpretation Notes Bibliography Index