The Routledge Handbook of Evolutionary Approaches to Religion

Description

The past two decades have seen a growing interest in evolutionary and scientific approaches to religion. The Routledge Handbook of Evolutionary Approaches to Religion is an outstanding reference source to the key topics, problems and debates in this exciting and emerging field. Comprising over thirty chapters by a team of international contributors the handbook pulls together scholarship in the following areas: • evolutionary psychology and the cognitive science of religion (CSR) • cultural evolution • the complementarity of evolutionary psychology, cognitive science and cultural evolution. Within these sections central issues, debates and problems are examined, including: Cliodynamics, cultural group selection, costly signaling, dual inheritance theory, literacy, transmitting narratives, prosociality, supernatural punishment, cognition and ritual, meme theory, fusion theory, sexual selection, agency detection, evoked culture, social brain hypothesis, theory of mind, developmental psychology, emergence theory, social learning, cultural cybernetics, cultural epidemiology, evolutionary and cultural psychology, memetics, by-product and adaptationist theories of religion, systems and information theory, and computer modeling. This Handbook is essential reading for students and researchers in religious studies and anthropology. It will also be very useful to those in related fields, such as psychology, sociology of religion, cognitive biology, and evolutionary biology. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents Contributors 1 Introduction: Evolutionary Approaches to Religion Historical Background Three Waves of Evolutionary Approaches to Religion and Culture Contemporary Evolutionary Approaches to Religion Evolutionary Psychology Cultural Evolution Notes References Part 1 Evolutionary Psychology 2 Introduction to Evolutionary Psychology References 3 Child Development: The Effects of Ritual On Cognitive Development References 4 Cognition and the History of Religion Cognitive Historiography (Of Religion) What Is It? What’s the Point? And How Do You Do It? Introduction: What Is Cognitive Historiography of Religion? Historiography Religion Cognitive Science Examples Conclusion References 5 Evoked Culture: Cognitive Mechanisms of Religious Belief and Behavior References 6 Sacred Values: Identity Fusion, Devoted Actor Theory, and Extremism Importance of Identities Two Identities Approaches to Identification Social Identity Theory Principles of Identity Fusion Theory Local Fusion Extended Fusion Principles of Fusion Outputs of Fusion Causes of Fusion Reflection On Emotional Experiences Self-similarity Conceptual Ties Sacred Values Devoted Actor Theory Evidence in Support of Devoted Actor Theory Issues With Devoted Actor Theory Possible Amendments to Devoted Actor Theory Conclusion References 7 Sexual Selection: Long-Term Mating Strategies and Religion Introduction Religion and Conservative Views On Sexuality Mating Strategies Religion Solves Problems Associated With Long-Term Strategies Fertility as Signal Mate Guarding Cultural Evolution Women and Religiosity Conclusion References 8 Minimally Counterintuitive Concepts: A Unified Theory in the Cognitive Science of Religion? Spread of the God Concept The Context-Based Model and Cognitive Science of New Religious Movements Postdiction and Social Identity Conclusions References 9 Faces in Clouds and Voices in the Wind: Anthropomorphism, Agency Detection and Human Cognition Introduction A Brief History of Religion as Anthropomorphism Bases of Our Evolutionary and Cognitive Approach Theories of Anthropomorphism Agency Detection Versus Anthropomorphism A Cognitive and Evolutionary Account of Anthropomorphism Conclusion Note References 10 Social Brain Hypothesis: Dunbar’s Number and the Stability of Religious Social Networks The Social Brain Hypothesis (SBH) “Dunbar’s Number” and Its Constraints Evolution, Archaeological and the Social Brain Hypothesis Social Groups and the Emergence of Language Dunbar’s Number and Online Social Networks Religion and Social Brain Hypothesis Identity and Stability of American Christian Congregations Conclusion Appendix: R-Code and Figures 11 Atheism: A New Evolutionary Perspective On Non-Belief Introduction Identifying Atheism in the Present and the Past Reverse-Engineering Atheism The Phylogeny of Atheism The Ontogeny of (A)theism The Development of Theistic Thinking The Development of Atheistic Thinking The Functionally Adaptive Explanation for Atheism Atheism as Functionally Adaptive, Similar to Religion Group Participation Humanistic Concerns Punishment and Prosociality Meaning in Life Belief in Science General Effects of Atheist Worldview Secularization as a Result of Adaptiveness Redundancy Biophysiological Contributions to the Atheism Conclusion Notes References 12 Personality and Psychology in the Evolution of Religion Introduction The Quest for Personality Structure The Evolution of Personality Religion and Personality References 13 Hazard Precaution: Examining the Possible Adaptive Value of Ritualized Behavior Introduction Defining Anxiety The Adaptive Value of Anxiety Ritual Effects On Anxiety Is the Ritual Management of Anxiety Adaptive? Conclusion Notes References Part 2 Cultural Evolution 14 Introduction to Cultural Evolution Introduction What Is Evolving? What Is Culture? What Is Religion? What Are Current Themes/Issues in the Evolutionary Science of Religion? Conclusion Notes References 15 Cultural Group Selection and the Evolution of Religion Introduction What Is Cultural Group Selection? Cultural Group Selection in Humans Religion, Cooperation and Cultural Group Selection Conclusion References 16 Costly Signaling: The ABCs of Signaling Theory and Religion Religion as Communication Behavioral Ecology and Signaling Theory Basic Definitions Conditions for Reliable Communication A Framework for Analyzing Religious Signals Content Costs Context Situating Signaling Theory Cultural Evolution Economics Future Considerations Conclusion Notes References 17 Credibility Enhancing Displays (CREDs): When They Work and When They Don’t Introduction Credibility Enhancing Displays in Evolutionary Perspective CREDs and Religion Current Empirical Evidence Linking CREDs to Religious Belief Further Implications: Secularization and Religious Hypocrisy Limitations and Future Directions Conclusion Notes References 18 Dual Inheritance Theory: Religion, Narrative, and Selection Introduction Dual Inheritance Theory and Niche Construction The Standard View of the Cognitive Science of Religion Counterintuitive Concepts as Key Elements of Religious Beliefs Factors Affecting the Transmission of Religious Beliefs Narrative Interpretations The Narrative Species Evolutionary Implications From Sexually Appealing Beliefs to Sexually Attractive Behavioral Practices Conclusions References 19 The Co-Evolution of Religion and Literate Culture Defining Literate Behavior Did Doctrinal Religions Facilitate the Emergence of Literate Behaviors? Writing Follows Meta-Ethic Religious Systems? Promising Areas of Research Notes References 20 Religion and Prosociality: The Naturalization of Norms Introduction Prosociality: A Slippery Concept Mechanisms for Religious Cooperation Supernatural Monitoring and Punishment Costly Signaling and Collective Action Synchrony and Ritual Self-Control and Self-Regulation Intuitive Cooperation Empirical Research and Evidence Present-Day Religion and Cooperation Secularization and Social Context “Little Gods” and Trust Mating Strategies and Life History Cultural Semantic Networks and Priming The Naturalization of Norms Disobedient Catholics and Birth Control Empirical Consequences Conclusion Notes References 21 Big Gods Theory: The Cultural Evolution of Social Complexity and Prosocial Religions Disputes About Big Gods Chronological Relationship Between Big Gods to Social Complexity Suggestions for Future Research in Big Gods Theory Complex Adaptive Systems and Self-Organization Notes References 22 The Evolution of Ritual, Cognition, and Modes of Religiosity During the Agricultural Transition Introduction The Agricultural Transition The Evolution of Ritual Ritual and Cognitive Mechanisms Cognitive Archaeology and the Agricultural Transition Cultural Evolution, Ritual Transmission and Group Identification New Rituals During the Agricultural Transition What Facilitated the Emergence of New Rituals? Cognitive Evolution Or Cognitive Augmentation During the Agricultural Transition? An Enhancement of Semantic Memory Identity Fusion Versus Group Identification Identity Fusion Group Identification Conclusion References 23 Meme Theory Introduction A Short Overview of Meme Theory Are Memes Real and Definable? Selection and Adaptation in Memetics Ritual and Memes References 24 Institutional Evolution: The Dynamics of Religious Formations The Evolution of Religion: What Is Evolving? How Does Selection Operate? Conceptualizing Culture and Structure From a Sociological Perspective Conceptualizing the Nature of Culture and Social Structure Subject to Evolution By Means of Selection The Basic Structure of Culture Societal-Level Structure and Its Culture Institutional-Level Structure and Its Culture Organizational-Level Structure and Its Culture Group-Level Structure and Its Culture Encounter-Level Structure and Its Culture The Power of Stratification in the Evolution of Societies Toward a More Robust Analysis of Sociocultural Evolution The Evolution of Religion: A Sociological Perspective The Evolution of Humans and the Origins of Religion: The Effects of Darwinian Selection Spencerian Type-1 Selection and the Institutionalization of Religion Durkheimian Selection Among Religious Corporate Units Spencerian Type-2 Selection and the Effects of Warfare and Conquest On Religion Marxian Selection Arising From Inequalities and Stratification On the Basis of Religious Affiliation Conclusions References 25 Behavioral Ecology: Niche Construction and Religion The Triple Helix: Reconsidering the Organism The Social Niche: Looping Biology and Culture Constructing a Sacred Niche: Religious Worlds in an Evolutionary Framework Structuring Environments: Ritual Ecology and Sacred Groves Conclusion Bibliography Part 3 Synthetic Approaches 26 Synthetic Approaches: At the Intersection of Evolutionary Psychology and Cultural Evolution Reference 27 RELIGION EMERGES: The Evolution of Language and Religion Part 1: Emergence Theory as a Tool for Explaining Religion A Short Primer On Emergence Theory An Initial Characterization of Religion’s Emergent Dynamics The Broader Context of an Emergent Approach to Religion Part 2: Emergence and Culture Cultural Memory The Origins of Cultural Memory The Flowering of Cultural Memory The Broader Context of an Emergent Approach to Cultural Memory Part 3: Religion Emerges The Component Parts of Religion Hyperactive Pattern Detection and the Production of Theoretical Entities—the Origin of Mythological Beliefs Embodied Presentations Like Drama and Dance Enacting Models of Social Behavior—the Origins of Ritually Organized … The Cultural Use of Altered Individual and Group Emotions and States of Consciousness—The Origins of “Religious Experience” How the Invention of Divinity Linked Mythological Beliefs, Ritually Organized Sociocultural Systems, and Transformative … Summary Notes References 28 Cultural Cybernetics of Religion: Computation and Information Transmission in Religion Introduction: Cybernetics in the Anthropocene Evolutionary Approaches in Broad Strokes Culture Evoked Units of Selection Similarities Between Cultural Evolution and Evolutionary Psychology Pros of Cultural Evolution and Evolutionary Psychology Cons of Cultural Evolution and Evolutionary Psychology Cultural Cybernetics as a Path Toward Integration Notes References 29 Major Transitions in Cultural Evolution: A Dynamic Systems Approach Modularity and Situated Cognition Towards a Synthetic and Multilevel Model of Cultural Evolution The “Major Transitions in Evolution” Model Complex Adaptive Systems as Energy and Information Flow Structures Energy Dynamics in Sociocultural Systems Information Dynamics in Sociocultural Systems Major Transitions in Cultural Evolution Merlin Donald’s Theory of Cognitive Evolution Mimetic Culture During the Lower Paleolithic (C. 3.3 Ma—300 Ka) Mythic Culture During the Middle Paleolithic (C. 300 Ka—50 Ka) Behaviorally Modern Humans During the Upper Paleolithic (C. 50 Ka—10 Ka) The Agricultural Revolution, Archaic States, and Theoretic Culture Axial Civilizations and Theoretic Cognition Conclusion Notes References 30 Cultural Epidemiology: Attractors and Representations Seeing Culture as an Epidemiology of Representations CE Meets the Cognitive Sciences of Religion Evolutionary Psychology “Infects” the Cultural Epidemiology of Religion The Attraction of Religious Prosociality The Virology of Evolved Morality in Religion Integrating CE With Other Approaches in the Cognitive Studies of Religion Note References 31 Differentiating Processes of Biological, Cognitive, and Cultural Selection: Implications for the Adaptation/ Byproduct Debate Levels of Analysis in Explaining Behavior From an Evolutionary Perspective The Biological (Genetic) Level of Analysis The Cognitive (Psychological) Level of Analysis The Cultural (Memetic) Level of Analysis Why It Matters: Levels of Causation and Explanation The Evolutionary/Biological Level of Analysis The Cognitive/Psychological Level of Analysis The Cultural/Societal Level of Analysis Implications for the Adaptation-Versus-Byproduct Debate Religion Is Not (Cannot Be) an Adaptation Religion Can Be Functional at Other Levels of Analysis Are Errors “Byproducts”? Conclusions Note References 32 Synthesis and Explanatory Pluralism Introduction Explanatory Pluralism and Academic Religious Studies Explanatory Pluralism Within the Scientific Study of Religion Conclusion Notes References 33 Concluding Reflections: An Evolutionary Approach to Comparative Religion Behavior in Environments: An Integrative Frame Gods and Ritual Niches in Evolutionary View Signaling and Displaying: A Communicative Universe Status Relationships Attributing Prestige The Attractions of Hypernormal Stimuli The Collective Niche: Holding a World Together Conserving a Tradition: Repetition and Memory One’s “Kind” Hierarchy and Status Sacred Norms and Their Protection The Interior Space of a Religious Niche Review References Index