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Definition
Mental representations of rites, tenets, and supernatural agent concepts derived from psychological processes and cultural inputs.
Introduction
Religious beliefs are both a product of natural selection and cultural evolutionary processes. Aspects of our evolved psychology, including certain cognitive by-products, underlie counterintuitive beliefs and supernatural agent concepts. Combinations of religious beliefs spread through competition between groups over the course of human history. Gradually, combinations of supernatural beliefs, tenets, and rituals that were increasingly effective at instilling deep commitment, reinforcing group solidarity, and sustaining large-scale cooperation became prominent among human societies (Atran and Henrich 2010).
Supernatural Agents and Counterintuitive Beliefs
Belief in supernatural agents plays a central role in both religion and religious ritual. Religions often invoke...
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References
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Tratner, A. (2016). Religious Beliefs. In: Weekes-Shackelford, V., Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_517-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_517-1
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