The Root of Religion

[empire we are]

Hello everyone. I'm brand new here but I would like to propose an extended discussion...

What is the biological/evolutionary root of religion. Your views and theory's of it.

Hopefully we can share our ideas.
My bonifides, if you will, for posting here.
Atheist, non-supersitionalist, realist, whatever, since the age of 8, much to the dismay of my now 82 year old mother.
I'm 52 and my realization of no ethereal being(s) is the same as it was 44 years ago.

[Warpy]

1. The biological root is easy enough

because they've found the specific area of the brain responsible for that "I'm not alone in this room" feeling that drives the religious experience. Skeptics have minimal activity in this particular area and nobody knows exactly why. It's just certain that no skeptic will dissuade a believer and no believer will persuade a skeptic.

As for the evolutionary root, who knows? It's probably just an extension of the familial and tribal cohesiveness we needed for survival when we had to find and pick dinner off the bushes every day. Some folks would have better luck than others and cohesiveness of the group would prompt sharing so they'd all survive to hunt another day.

[onager]

2. H.L. Mencken nailed the evolutionary part.

Back when our ancestors lived in caves, one day it started raining. And it kept raining, long enough that the caves on the lower levels were flooded and people drowned. Miserable, soaked and fearing for their lives, the survivors scrambled for the mountaintop and watched the water rise higher and higher.

Out of frustration and fear, one man finally screamed for the rains to stop.

PURELY OUT OF COINCIDENCE, the rains did stop.

And the man who screamed became the first priest.

[empire we are]

3. Good thought but I'm looking for a reason that begins further back.

Everywhere you look, past and present, on every inhabited continent we see religion, belief, faith.

We all know what our reptilian brain governs, but what of our primitive mammalian brain, especially our primitive primate brain.

Could a specific section of that primate brain, hard wired by millions of generations of successful natural selection be the root cause of belief/religion?


The priests and shamans never knowing the physiological root, were driven by the alpha section(a whole nother discussion)to control.

Could those of us who don't believe... have a portion of our brains capable of overriding the ancient hard wired behavior of the need to be watched? Evolution at work?

[qb]

4. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

by Julian Jaynes... It's been several years since I read it, but I thought his ideas on the origin of the god belief were intriguing. His theory is that ancient people (prior to the evolution of consciousness) had no connection between the right and left sides of their brain (and thus were bicameral). Thinking and problem-solving that later evolved into consciousness manifested itself in "voices" heard by bicameral people. They believed these voices came from an external invisible entity. Jaynes supports this theory with cave drawings from various locations indicating a throne occupied by an invisible ruler who commands his/her followers. This invisible ruler was their god (or gods). This god belief persisted after a connection between the two halves of the brain and consciousness evolved.

[cosmik debris]

5. Sounds pretty far fetched, but

It's better than anything I've got. :)

[qb]

6. At least check out the book...

It's far more compelling than my half-assed synopsis :hi: