12.25.09
Evo psych discovers piety
Religious Piety as a Mating Strategy
The darwinization of religion via evolutionary psych gets more and more desperate: this one has discovered the need to trash piety in the name of Natural Selection.
When beautiful people boost belief in God
The evolutionary significance of religion is a hot topic. Several researchers have suggested that religious belief is one or another sort of parasitic meme that exploits the existing architecture of the human mind (I made joking reference to this view in my earlier post How the Dawkins Stole Christmas, but I suggest a couple of serious readings below). Others have asked whether religious beliefs might be adaptive in some way — inspiring group cohesiveness or helping us stay in line when we’re not sure whether anyone is watching.