Extending Evolutionary Accounts of Religion beyond the Mind: Religions as Adaptive Systems

Abstract

Current cognitive approaches to religion maintain that religion evolved as a by-product of cognitive mechanisms that were naturally selected for functions unrelated to religion. In the present chapter it is argued that it is necessary to widen the scope of analyses to encompass religious concepts, behaviour, and sharedness, and how they interact with each other and with the environment. This approach offers a more dynamic evolutionary explanation of religion that is not only able to account for a greater number of recent findings, but is also more plausible amidst competing theories. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of the leading evolutionary explanations of religion are discussed, and it is shown that there are both promising avenues of research which lie ahead, as well as important steps in evaluating, integrating, and extending such accounts.