The Attraction of Religion

A New Evolutionary Psychology of Religion

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, Psychology of Religion
Cover of the book The Attraction of Religion by , Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9781472529688
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: February 26, 2015
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9781472529688
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: February 26, 2015
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Language: English

Religion is an evolutionary puzzle. It involves beliefs in counterfactual worlds and engagement in costly rituals. Yet religion is widespread across all human cultures and eras. This begs the question, why are so many people attracted to religion?

In The Attraction of Religion, essays by leading scholars in evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and religious studies demonstrate how religion may be related to evolutionary adaptations because religious commitments involve fitness-enhancing behaviours that promote reproduction, kinship, and social solidarity. Could it be that religion is wide-spread, at least in the modern world, because it helps to facilitate cooperative breeding? International contributors explore the philosophical and theoretical arguments for and against the use of costly signalling, sexual selection, and related theories to explain religion, and empirical findings that support or disconfirm such claims. The first book-length treatment that focuses specifically on costly signalling, sexual selection, and related evolutionary theories to explain religion, The Attraction of Religion will be an important contribution to the field and will be of interest to researchers in the fields of evolutionary psychology, religion and science, the psychology of religion, and anthropology of religion.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Religion is an evolutionary puzzle. It involves beliefs in counterfactual worlds and engagement in costly rituals. Yet religion is widespread across all human cultures and eras. This begs the question, why are so many people attracted to religion?

In The Attraction of Religion, essays by leading scholars in evolutionary psychology, anthropology, and religious studies demonstrate how religion may be related to evolutionary adaptations because religious commitments involve fitness-enhancing behaviours that promote reproduction, kinship, and social solidarity. Could it be that religion is wide-spread, at least in the modern world, because it helps to facilitate cooperative breeding? International contributors explore the philosophical and theoretical arguments for and against the use of costly signalling, sexual selection, and related theories to explain religion, and empirical findings that support or disconfirm such claims. The first book-length treatment that focuses specifically on costly signalling, sexual selection, and related evolutionary theories to explain religion, The Attraction of Religion will be an important contribution to the field and will be of interest to researchers in the fields of evolutionary psychology, religion and science, the psychology of religion, and anthropology of religion.

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Inked by
Cover of the book My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time by
Cover of the book Rocket States: Atomic Weaponry and the Cultural Imagination by
Cover of the book Ovid by
Cover of the book Soviet Aces of World War 2 by
Cover of the book Fashion Journalism by
Cover of the book Funny Once by
Cover of the book Graphic Design in Urban Environments by
Cover of the book 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Developing Thinking Skills by
Cover of the book The Role of Competitors in the Enforcement of State Aid Law by
Cover of the book We Are the Change We Seek by
Cover of the book US Marine Rifleman in Vietnam 1965–73 by
Cover of the book The Thought of Pope Benedict XVI new edition by
Cover of the book Parliaments and Human Rights by
Cover of the book The Late Work of Sam Shepard by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy