The Evolution of Religion, Religiosity and Theology: A Multi-Level and Multi-Disciplinary Approach

Description

This book takes a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary approach to religion, religiosity and theology from their earliest beginnings to the present day. It uniquely brings together the natural sciences and theology to explore how religious practice emerged and developed through the four sections into which the book is organized: Evolutionary biology; Philosophical linguistics, psychology and neuroscience; Theology and Anthropology. The volume features an international panel of contributors who develop an innovative picture of religion as a culturally-created social institution; religiosity as a more personal and subjective anthropological element of people expressed through religion; and theology as the study of god. To survive in changing times, living systems ― a good characterization of religion, religiosity and theology ― all must adaptively evolve. This is a vital study of a rapidly burgeoning field. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars in religious studies and theology as well as in the psychological, sociological, and anthropological study of religion. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents List of figures List of tables Preface List of contributors Introduction: A Multilevel and Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding Religion and Its Evolution Part 1 Evolutionary Biology 1 Cultural Evolution, Biology and the Case of Religion 2 The Evolutionary Biology of Religion-Specific Beliefs and Interreligious Conflict 3 Sex and the Evolution of Spirituality 4 The Biological Basis for Religion and Religion’s Evolutionary Origins Part 2 Philosophy of Language, Psychology and Neuroscience 5 A History of the Evolution of Religion: From Religion to Religiosity to the Processes of Believing 6 The Processes of Believing in Religion’s Evolution: A Cognitive Neuroscience Hypothesis 7 Near-Death and Out-of-Body Experiences in Sensing the Divine: One Foundational Role in Religion’s Evolution 8 Awe as a Meaning-Making Emotion: On the Evolution of Awe and the Origin of Religions 9 Whence This Need for Salvation?: Childhood Corporal Punishment and the Cultural Evolution of Religious Myth Part 3 Theology 10 What a Theological Appropriation of Cognitive Linguistics’ Blending Theory Brings to a Scientific Understanding of the Evolution of Religion 11 The Evolution of Religiosity: A Theologian’s View 12 Neoteny and Homo Religiosus: Brain Evolution and Emergence of the Capacity for Spirituality 13 Emotions and the Evolution of the Belief in God Part 4 Anthropology 14 The Evolution of Hunter-Gatherer Religion: Issues and Debates among the San of Southern Africa 15 Bones, Pigments, Art and Symbols: Archaeological Evidence for the Origins of Religion 16 Every Kingdom Divided Against Itself: The Evolution of Christianity Conclusion Index