Religion explained: the evolutionary origins of religious thought

TLDR

Religion is increasingly understood through scientific inquiry, with scholars like Pascal Boyer noting that many longstanding questions about religion are now answerable. The book synthesizes anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology to explain religion as a naturalistic phenomenon. It offers the first scientific account of the nature, content, and origins of religious feeling. First classic of 21st‑century anthropology by John Tooby and Leda Cosmides, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Abstract

The first classic of 21st-century anthropology.--John Tooby and Leda Cosmides, University of California, Santa Barbara. Many of our questions about religion, says renowned anthropologist Pascal Boyer, are no longer mysteries. We are beginning to know how to answer questions such as Why do people have religion? Using findings from anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology, Religion Explained shows how this aspect of human consciousness is increasingly admissible to coherent, naturalistic explanation. This brilliant and controversial book gives readers the first scientific explanation for what religious feeling is really about, what it consists of, and where it comes from.