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Quote by: Prometheus I am religious, but I would like to look at the topic scientifically - so everyone assume that religion is false for this thread.
Why does our species so consistantly create religions? Every culture has a religion - throughout all of history.
Lets look at the evolutionary advantages of religion:
(1) It fosters altruism (kin selection), which is advantagous to a species
(2) It helps deal with pain (for some)
(3) It often prevents suicide
(4) It often serves as a plecebo cure for illness
(5) many religions cause people to think about their posterity (obviously an evolutionary advantage)
(6) Many religions restrict diet to be more healthy (Drinking, Smoking etc.)
(7) It promotes pair-bonding (which is universally considered advantagous by animal behaviorologists)
Lets hit some rebuttals really quick:
(1) Celabate monks - many animal cultures have developed non-breeding community members that help the species be more successfull.
(2) Less Sex (by religions that teach that) - When a religion teaches to only have sex with your spouse, it may seem evolutionarily detremantal, but it increases the fitness of your offspring to be raised with both parents (see numerous psych studies) |
religion can be good for some people, but only in moderation. When it comes to war, however, religion is still one of the biggest reasons for it.
Non-secular governments have been proven repeatedly as a major source of ethnic conflict.
Grandpa h.