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Humans Hardwired to Believe in Supernatural Deity?
dohcrx writes "According to a Sunday New York Times article, 6 in 10 Americans believe in the devil and hell, 7 in 10 believe in angels, heaven and the existence of miracles and life after death, while 92% believe in a personal God. The article explores the possibility that this belief structure may be ingrained into our genetic makeup. 'When a trait is universal, evolutionary biologists look for a genetic explanation and wonder how that gene or genes might enhance survival or reproductive success ... Which is the better biological explanation for a belief in God — evolutionary adaptation or neurological accident? Is there something about the cognitive functioning of humans that makes us receptive to belief in a supernatural deity?'"
It seems that men who had Someone to pray to, something to hope for, gained a psychological edge that could mean the difference between life and death under extreme conditions.
Plus, they had the benefit of sharing in any rations stolen from those hellbound atheists. Limpwristed heathens!
"Wait, you mean religion might confer some survival advantage? And it's so widespread that..."
Not strange at all.
Those with a tendency towards believing in deities falls under control of a "priest", who commands them to kill those who do not, since they are "non believers".
Then the priest starts saying that it's their duty to their "god" to have lots of children.
Fast forward a few hundred years and the genetic predisposition towards believing in deities will be on overwhelming majority.
/.Mattsson - My native language is not English, so please don't whine over linguistic errors. (That's lame anyway...)