Evolutionary origin of religion
Study of how religion may have evolved through natural selection.
The evolutionary origin of religion is a field of study that examines how religious behavior and beliefs may have emerged through evolutionary processes. It draws on evolutionary psychology, the origin of language and mythology, and cross-cultural comparisons from the anthropology of religion. Key areas of interest include Neolithic religion, evidence for spirituality in the Upper Paleolithic, and similarities in great ape behavior.
- field
- Evolutionary psychology, anthropology of religion
- known_for
- Investigating the evolutionary roots of religious behavior and belief
- related_species
- Common chimpanzees and bonobos
- key_concepts
- Neocortex size, tool use, language development, morality
Lore & Background
The field considers humanity's closest living relatives, common chimpanzees and bonobos, as surrogates for the common ancestor that lived between six and eight million years ago. Barbara King argues that while non-human primates are not religious, they exhibit traits necessary for the evolution of religion, including high intelligence, symbolic communication, social norms, and a sense of self-continuity. Elephants perform rituals for their dead, showing long periods of silence and mourning, and later returning to grave sites.
Reader's Guide
Theories on the evolutionary origin of religion often focus on brain size. Stephen Jay Gould suggests religion may have grown out of evolutionary changes favoring larger brains for group coherence among savanna hunters, enabling reflection on mortality. Tool use is also considered: Lewis Wolpert contends that causal beliefs from tool-making played a major role, though chimpanzees also show understanding of causality. Others distinguish individual belief, which may predate language, from collective belief requiring language and social trust. Morality is viewed by Frans de Waal and Barbara King as having grown out of primate sociality.
Did You Know?
- Chimpanzees and bonobos share a common ancestor with humans who lived between six and eight million years ago.
- Elephants perform rituals for their dead, including long periods of silence and returning to grave sites.
- The neocortex occupies 80% of the brain in modern humans, compared to 50% in chimpanzees.
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