Religion and Sociobiology
Sociobiology is scientific study of the biological basis of social behavior.
Sociobiology teaches us that many behaviors which we think of as learned behaviors are in fact deeply rooted in evolutionary processes. Many of the decisions we make and actions we take are the results of billions of years of natural selection.
One important example of this is religion. All societies have developed some sort of religion. These religions are highly differentiated and yet they share some common features.
Religions exist, and continue to exist, because they fulfill a positive evolutionary purpose. Some religious practices confer biological advantages. As E.O. Wilson stated, “Religious practices that consistently enhance survival and procreation of the practitioners will propagate the physiological controls that favor the acquisition of the practices during single lifetimes.” This also means that some religious practices are more likely to be propagated than others.
Religions can be grouped into several major categories:
- Ancestor and spirit worship
- Polytheism
- Monotheism
In general, religions have evolved from ancestor/spirit worship to polytheism and then to monotheism. This is not to imply that the later forms of religion are superior, except in the sense that they are better able to propagate themselves and displace competing religions.
We are at a point of biological and cultural evolution where it is now possible for religion to evolve into it’s next stage of growth. This stage must take into account the massive explosion of scientific knowledge that we have aquired over the last few centuries, but at the same time it must also provide the same or greater benefits as the existing competing religions.
Designing a religion that meets these criteria is obviously not an easy task, but it has been done many times before in human history. This evolution of religion will happen, no matter what we do. We have an opportunity, however, to guide this process with the goal of producing the best possible next-generation religion.