The Biology Of Religious Behavior

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The Biology of Religious Behavior

Author : Jay R. Feierman
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 325 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2009-06-08
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780313364310

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The Biology of Religious Behavior by Jay R. Feierman Pdf

Offers a fresh and detailed take on the evolution of religious behavior from a biobehavioral perspective, promoting a new understanding that may help build bridges across the religious divide. There has been much recent interest in the study of religion from the perspective of Darwinian evolution. The Biology of Religious Behavior: The Evolutionary Origins of Faith and Religion offers a broad overview of the topic, written by internationally recognized experts. In addition to its primary focus on religious behavior, the book addresses other important aspects of religion, such as values, beliefs, and emotions as they affect behavior. The contributors approach the evolution of religion by examining the behavior of individuals in their everyday lives. After describing various religious behaviors, the contributors consider the behaviors with reference to their evolutionary history, development during the lifetime of the individual, proximate causes, and adaptive value. Happily, this foray into understanding religion from a biobehavioral perspective demonstrates that, at the biological and behavioral levels, what unites the different religions of the world is far greater than what divides them.

The Biological Evolution of Religious Mind and Behavior

Author : Eckart Voland,Wulf Schiefenhövel
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 308 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 2009-08-12
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783642001284

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The Biological Evolution of Religious Mind and Behavior by Eckart Voland,Wulf Schiefenhövel Pdf

In a Darwinian world, religious behavior - just like other behaviors - is likely to have undergone a process of natural selection in which it was rewarded in the evolutionary currency of reproductive success. This book aims to provide a better understanding of the social scenarios in which selection pressure led to religious practices becoming an evolved human trait, i.e. an adaptive answer to the conditions of living and surviving that prevailed among our prehistoric ancestors. This aim is pursued by a team of expert authors from a range of disciplines. Their contributions examine the relevant physiological, emotional, cognitive and social processes. The resulting understanding of the functional interplay of these processes gives valuable insights into the biological roots and benefits of religion.

The Psychology of Religious Behaviour, Belief and Experience

Author : Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi,Michael Argyle
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 331 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2014-03-18
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781317799047

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The Psychology of Religious Behaviour, Belief and Experience by Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi,Michael Argyle Pdf

Because society is increasingly secular, it may seem irrelevant to consider the psychology of religion. But the diversity of our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society in fact makes religion more important to the social sciences than it has ever been before. What are the social consequences of religion? Every day the news is full of events that can be blamed on religion perpetrated by a range of groups from whole societies to individuals. Beit-Hallami and Argyle are renowned for their clear, analytical approach to topics and this new, state-of-the-art study of psychology and religion is no exception. It will be welcomed as an update to their previous work in the area by social psychologists, sociologists and theologians worldwide.

Ancestors, Territoriality, and Gods

Author : Ina Wunn,Davina Grojnowski
Publisher : Springer
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 48,8 Mb
Release : 2016-07-27
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9783662527573

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Ancestors, Territoriality, and Gods by Ina Wunn,Davina Grojnowski Pdf

This books sets out to explain how and why religion came into being. Today this question is as fascinating as ever, especially since religion has moved to the centre of socio-political relationships. In contrast to the current, but incomplete approaches from disciplines such as cognitive science and psychology, the present authors adopt a new approach, equally manifest and constructive, that explains the origins of religion based strictly on behavioural biology. They employ accepted research results that remove all need for speculation. Decisive factors for the earliest demonstrations of religion are thus territorial behaviour and ranking, coping with existential fears, and conflict solution with the help of rituals. These in turn, in a process of cultural evolution, are shown to be the roots of the historical and contemporary religions.

The Faith Instinct

Author : Nicholas Wade
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 320 pages
File Size : 43,9 Mb
Release : 2009-11-12
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781101155677

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The Faith Instinct by Nicholas Wade Pdf

Noted science writer Nicholas Wade offers for the first time a convincing case based on a broad range of scientific evidence for the evolutionary basis of religion.

Where God and Science Meet

Author : Patrick McNamara Ph.D.
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 918 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 2006-09-30
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9780313054761

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Where God and Science Meet by Patrick McNamara Ph.D. Pdf

Spiritual practices, or awakenings, have an impact on brain, mind and personality. These changes are being scientifically predicted and proven. For example, studies show Buddhist priests and Franciscan nuns at the peak of religious feelings show a functional change in the lobes of their brain. Similar processes have been found in people with epilepsy, which Hippocrates called the sacred disease. New research is showing that not only does a person's brain activity change in particular areas while that person is experiencing religious epiphany, but such events can be created for some people, even self-professed atheists, by stimulating various parts of the brain. In this far-reaching and novel set, experts from across the nation and around the world present evolutionary, neuroscientific, and psychological approaches to explaining and exploring religion, including the newest findings and evidence that have spurred the fledgling field of neurotheology. It is not the goal of neurotheology to prove or disprove the existence of God, but to understand the biology of spiritual experiences. Such experiences seem to exist outside time and space - caused by the brain for some reason losing its perception of a boundary between physical body and outside world - and could help explain other intangible events, such as altered states of consciousness, possessions, alien visitations, near-death experiences and out-of-body events. Understanding them - as well as how and why these abilities evolved in the brain - could also help us understand how religion contributes to survival of the human race. Eminent contributors to this set help us answer questions including: How does religion better our brain function? What is the difference between a religious person and a terrorist who kills in the name of religion? Is there one site or function in the brain necessary for religious experience?

Religion, Personality, and Social Behavior

Author : Vassilis Saroglou
Publisher : Psychology Press
Page : 441 pages
File Size : 48,5 Mb
Release : 2013-07-24
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781136449840

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Religion, Personality, and Social Behavior by Vassilis Saroglou Pdf

Psychological interest in religion, in terms of both theory and empirical research, has been constant since the beginning of psychology. However, since the beginning of the 21st Century, partially due to important social and political events and developments, interest in religion within personality and social psychology has increased. This volume reviews the accumulated research and theory on the major aspects of personality and social psychology as applied to religion. It provides a high quality integrative, systematic, and rigorous review of that work, with a focus on topics that are both central in personality and social psychology and have allowed for the accumulation of solid and replicated and not impressionist knowledge on religion. The contributors are renowned researchers in the field who offer an international perspective that is both illuminating, yet neutral, with respect to religion. The volume’s primary audience are academics, researchers, and advanced students in social psychology, but it will also interest those in sociology, political sciences, and anthropology.

Religion, Disease, and Immunology

Author : Thomas B. Ellis
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 249 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 2022-06-02
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781350188266

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Religion, Disease, and Immunology by Thomas B. Ellis Pdf

This book argues that religion has emerged over evolutionary time as a strategy for managing the transmission, contraction, and eradication of infectious disease. From purity and pollution codes to blood sacrifices and irrational beliefs, the book shows how religion supports not only the physiological immune system, but the behavioral and psychological immune systems as well. The book also addresses those moments when it appears that religion becomes maladaptive, that is, when religion causes “autoimmune problems,” such as celibacy and anti-vaccination. Engaging material ranging from evolutionary and social psychology to human behavioral ecology, biological anthropology, Darwinian medicine, and religious studies, the book proposes that in order to understand the human animal's enduring fascination with religion, one must take into account the enduring need to manage infectious disease.

Issues in Science and Theology: Are We Special?

Author : Michael Fuller,Dirk Evers,Anne Runehov,Knut-Willy Sæther
Publisher : Springer
Page : 313 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2017-10-23
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9783319621241

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Issues in Science and Theology: Are We Special? by Michael Fuller,Dirk Evers,Anne Runehov,Knut-Willy Sæther Pdf

This book offers a penetrating analysis of issues raised by the perennial question, ‘Are We Special?’ It brings together scholars from a variety of disciplines, from astronomy and palaeontology to philosophy and theology, to explore this question. Contributors cover a wide variety of issues, including what makes humans distinct from other animals, the possibilities of artificial life and artificial intelligence, the likelihood of life on other planets, and the role of religious behavior. A variety of religious and scientific perspectives are brought to bear on these matters. As a whole, the book addresses whether the issue of human uniqueness is one to which sciences and religions necessarily offer differing responses.

Principles of Psychology in Religious Context

Author : E. Rae Harcum
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
Page : 210 pages
File Size : 44,9 Mb
Release : 2013
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780761860457

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Principles of Psychology in Religious Context by E. Rae Harcum Pdf

This book asserts that the better one understands the causes of behavior, the better one can apply that knowledge to produce a better world. It describes the mechanisms that cause human behavior, such as freedom of will, in a manner consistent with religious beliefs. It also asserts that all avenues for studying human behavior, like intuition and prayer, are acceptable and necessary. Thus, when studying the agent of human action, we must rely on faith, logic, and intuition, in addition to the full use of empirical science. Principles of Psychology for People of God begins with a description of the nervous system and continues with chapters on development, perception, internal states, learning, memory, and the ultimate selection of behaviors. Nevertheless, it steadfastly emphasizes that behavior is not produced by physical mechanisms alone, but also by a non-material spirit that can transcend some inheritances and environments.

Creation of the Sacred

Author : Walter Burkert
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 1998-01-13
Category : Religion
ISBN : 0674175700

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Creation of the Sacred by Walter Burkert Pdf

Sacrifice is essential to all religions. Could there be a natural, even biological, reason? Why are sacrifice and numerous other religious rituals and concepts shared by so many different cultures? In this extraordinary book, one of the world’s leading authorities on ancient religions explores the possibility of natural religion.

The Neuroscience of Religious Experience

Author : Patrick McNamara
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 319 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2009-11-06
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781139483568

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The Neuroscience of Religious Experience by Patrick McNamara Pdf

Technical advances in the life and medical sciences have revolutionised our understanding of the brain, while the emerging disciplines of social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience continue to reveal the connections of the higher cognitive functions and emotional states associated with religious experience to underlying brain states. At the same time, a host of developing theories in psychology and anthropology posit evolutionary explanations for the ubiquity and persistence of religious beliefs and the reports of religious experiences across human cultures, while gesturing toward physical bases for these behaviours. What is missing from this literature is a strong voice speaking to these behavioural and social scientists - as well as to the intellectually curious in the religious studies community - from the perspective of a brain scientist.

The Body of Faith

Author : Robert C. Fuller
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 246 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2013-06-01
Category : History
ISBN : 9780226025117

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The Body of Faith by Robert C. Fuller Pdf

The postmodern view that human experience is constructed by language and culture has informed historical narratives for decades. Yet newly emerging information about the biological body now makes it possible to supplement traditional scholarly models with insights about the bodily sources of human thought and experience. The Body of Faith is the first account of American religious history to highlight the biological body. Robert C. Fuller brings a crucial new perspective to the study of American religion, showing that knowledge about the biological body deeply enriches how we explain dramatic episodes in American religious life. Fuller shows that the body’s genetically evolved systems—pain responses, sexual passion, and emotions like shame and fear—have persistently shaped the ways that Americans forge relationships with nature, to society, and to God. The first new work to appear in the Chicago History of American Religion series in decades, The Body of Faith offers a truly interdisciplinary framework for explaining the richness, diversity, and endless creativity of American religious life.

Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health

Author : Ellen L. Idler
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 465 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780199362202

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Religion as a Social Determinant of Public Health by Ellen L. Idler Pdf

Leading scholars in the social sciences, public health and religion examine the embodied sacred practices of the world's religions, the history of alignment and tension between religious and public health institutions and the role of religious institutions in health and development efforts around the globe.

Religious Behaviour

Author : Michael Argyle
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 164 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2006-05-17
Category : Social Science
ISBN : 9781134685349

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Religious Behaviour by Michael Argyle Pdf

No study of religious practice ancient or modern is complete without reference to the work of sociologists on religious practice. The volumes in The Sociology of Religion set of the International Library of Sociology explore the social, economic and behavioural contexts of religious activity.