Biological reason for religion?

In my introduction, members like Keckster and SuperHappyJen expressed the view that any logical rational intelligent person should be an atheist, and wondered how apparently intelligent adults would accept superstition as reality. This has also perplexed me for years. You look at American gallup polls in recent years, and the overwhelming majority of Americans still believe in god or elements of the supernatural (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme...od/3518221.stm).

Studies have also shown that religiously devout people tend to have longer lives than those who do not hold any beliefs. For many flummoxed nonbelievers, religion cries out for a biological explanation. There has been much research done by scientists to see if religiosity is an inherited trait. They think that a strong belief in God, spirits or the supernatural might have given our ancestors considerable advantages.

Even back in the 1950’s, Harvard psychologist Gordon Allport identified

“a group of people who were intrinsically religious, seeing their religion as an end in itself. They tended to be more deeply committed; religion became the organizing principle in their lives, a central and personal experience. The evidence generally is that intrinsic religiosity seems to be associated with lower levels of anxiety and stress, freedom from guilt, better adjustment in society and less depression. On the other hand, extrinsic religious feelings - where religion is used as a way to belong to and prosper within a group - seem to be associated with increased tendencies to guilt, worry and anxiety. “

For more details see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005...ienceandnature

In more recent years, scientists like Scott Atran (In Gods We Trust), Pascal Boyer (And Man Creates God), David Sloan Wilson (Darwin's Cathedral), and Daniel C. Dennett (Breaking The Spell) have written books about religion as a natural and biological phenomenon. I think quite a few forum members have already read some of these, and some of these may have already been referenced in other threads.

I should also mention Project Explaining Religion, the largest-ever scientific study of its kind. It is currently halfway through its 3 year study involving academics and scientists from a dozen universities and a range of disciplines including psychology, anthropology, history and economics to investigate religiosity. Lastly, in Geneva’s CERN there’s the multi-billion dollar machine, the Large Hadron Collider, built to search for the elusive Higgs boson—aka the God particle.

Science and religion are by nature diametrically opposed. Now science seems to be developing the capacity to explain the existence of the latter. While nobody has identified any gene for religion, studies are showing that a shared religion appears to be evolutionarily advantageous, and natural selection might favor those groups with stronger religious beliefs.

For me, this seems to make the most sense and explains why so many people still believe in god. But does this mean that atheism and secularism are biologically maladaptive? Does this mean that the religious side may eventually “win”? And if this is the case, why are they still so threatened by us?

Science and religion are by nature diametrically opposed. Now science seems to be developing the capacity to explain the existence of the latter. While nobody has identified any gene for religion, studies are showing that a shared religion appears to be evolutionarily advantageous, and natural selection might favor those groups with stronger religious beliefs.

Meezly,
I'd like to read those studies. Without knowing what evolution would have produced had religion not been a part of our history it is hard to support any evolutionary advantage. Crocodiles and sea turtles have done quite well for a lot longer than humans without any religious beliefs (as far as we know). Since our place on the planet is such a comparatively short period of time it is hard to see how religion would stand up to scrutiny for being somehow helpful. We don't even have good historical data to indicate when religious beliefs became part of our lifestyle.

Rationella, making a copmarison to turtles and crocs is probably not the best argument, but you do have an excellent point about the lack of historical data. All I’m saying is that there really is no hard evidence yet, and trying to provide a rational explanation to myself about why things are the way they are.

Fields such as evolutionary psychology and human behavioral ecology, which were previously minority and/or controversial disciplines have lately become more popular and accepted. It’s basically taking the established disciplines like psychology, anthropology, sociobiology and looking at it from an evolutionary standpoint. I just find this kind of scientific progress kind of exciting. And there’s still a lot of debate about these theories even among evolutionists too. Since a biological reason makes a lot of sense in explaining why so many people still believe despite the advancements in human knowledge and technology. Religiosity seems such a primal and almost fundamental need in our mental and emotional makeup.

Maybe most of these scientists are as deluded as the creationist scientists trying to disprove carbon-14 dating, and maybe I’m just as deluded as any bible-thumper in wanting to believe it, but at least these guys seem to be really taking a closer, harder look at human nature and what really makes us tick. There is still so much to learn about ourselves!

(Kaeso, you’re right in that the higgs boson thing didn’t belong, but it’s somewhat related in how scientists, albeit physicists, are trying to prove or disprove the existence of god. I guess I was trying to get across how science is really trying to poke its nose at god’s business, and how this may totally freak the shit out of many religious folk)

You are the best example of a biological reason for religion.

If religions means discovering who you really are.

I would greatly beg to differ, melki-zadok.

If anything, religion is an impediment from truly knowing who you are.

I read a Scientifc American article not too long ago that said religion may have been advantageous in group suvival. I don't remember all the details, but basically following all the rules and avoiding prohibitions to please a diety create greater social cohesion. Greater social cohesion keeps a group together, which in turn increases survival.

Good points, Blondin.

Your reference to various non-Christian religious cults made me think about some religious groups that promote celibacy. Were this religious behavior widespread it would end the evolution of the species within a very short time.

Richard Dawkins deals with this subject of a biological reason for religion very well in "The God Delusion" if I remember correctly. I will not attempt to paraphrase however. I know I'll screw it up.