Monday, June 14, 2010
Religion Made Us Human, Ensured Survival at Crucial Points in History
From Southeastern Louisiana University
In the grim struggles of prehistory, early religion provided humans a way to relate to each other and the world around them, offering significant survival and reproductive advantages, a Southeastern Louisiana University evolutionary psychologist says in a new book.
“The roots of religion stretch as far back as half a million years, when our ancestors developed the motor controls to engage in social rituals – that is, to sing and dance together,” said Matt Rossano, professor and head of the Department of Psychology at Southeastern and author of the book “Supernatural Selection: How Religion Evolved.”
He said about 70,000 years ago, a global ecological crisis drove humanity to the edge of extinction.
“It forced the survivors to create new strategies for survival, and religious rituals were foremost among them,” he added.
Read the full article here.
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