Cited by 780Study and Philosophy of ReligionReligion, Spirituality, and PsychologyEvolution and Science Education

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The Naturalness of Religious Ideas: A Cognitive Theory of Religion

Boyer, Pascal·1994·University of California Press eBooks

DOI 10.1525/9780520911628

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Abstract

Why do people have religious ideas? And why thosereligious ideas? The main theme of Pascal Boyer's work is that important aspects of religious representations are constrained by universal properties of the human mind-brain. Experimental results from developmental psychology, he says, can explain why certain religious representations are more likely to be acquired, stored, and transmitted by human minds. Considering these universal constraints, Boyer proposes an exciting new answer to the question of why similar religious representations are found in so many different cultures. His work will be widely discussed by cultural anthropologists, psychologists, and students of religion, history, and philosophy.

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Authors: Boyer, P.
Corresponding author: Boyer, Pascal
ORCID: Boyer, Pascal
Venue: University of California Press eBooks
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 1994-12-31
DOI: 10.1525/9780520911628
OpenAlex: W4243162844
Cited by: 780
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 27 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 31 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 26 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 40 · 2019: 33 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 24 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 28 · 2013: 31 · 2012: 26
FWCI: 23.58
Type: book
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: University of California Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Evolution and Science Education
Keywords: Pascal Boyer, naturalism, religious representation, religious cognition

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The Naturalness of Religious Ideas: A Cognitive Theory of Religion

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