Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought
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. What is the origin? -- What supernatural concepts are like -- The kind of mind it takes -- Why gods and spirits? -- Why do gods and spirits matter? -- Why is religion about death? -- Why rituals? -- Why doctrines, exclusion and violence? -- Why belief
