Evolutionary origin of religion
Study of how religion may have evolved through natural selection.
The evolutionary origin of religion is a field of study that examines how religious behavior and beliefs may have emerged through evolutionary processes. It draws on evolutionary psychology, the origin of language and mythology, and cross-cultural comparisons from the anthropology of religion. Key areas of interest include Neolithic religion, evidence for spirituality in the Upper Paleolithic, and similarities in great ape behavior.
Humanity's closest living relatives, common chimpanzees and bonobos, share a common ancestor with humans from between six and eight million years ago, making them key surrogates for studying the prerequisites for religion. While non-human primates are not religious, they exhibit traits necessary for its evolution, such as high intelligence, symbolic communication, a sense of social norms, and awareness of self-continuity. Elephants also perform rituals for their dead, showing long periods of silence and later returning to caress remains, suggesting grief.
One major theory links religion to increased brain size. The hominid brain tripled in size, peaking around 500,000 years ago, with most expansion in the neocortex. This region correlates with social complexity, including group size and mating behaviors. In modern humans, the neocortex occupies 80% of the brain, compared to 50% in chimpanzees. Robin Dunbar argues that only after the speciation of archaic *Homo sapiens* was the neocortex large enough to process complex social phenomena like language and religion. Stephen Jay Gould suggested religion may have arisen from larger brains that enabled reflection on mortality and group cohesion.
Tool use also played a role. Lewis Wolpert contends that creating complex tools required understanding causality, a foundation for belief. The sophistication of stone tools indicates causal reasoning, though chimpanzees also show causal understanding, such as escaping multi-latched pens. The difference is one of degree, linked to prefrontal cortex size.
Language is essential for transmitting religious ideas. Philip Lieberman states that religious thought rests on a cognitive-linguistic base. Nicholas Wade argues that religion, in its modern form, cannot predate the emergence of articulate language, which likely reached its modern state shortly before the human exodus from Africa 50,000 years ago. However, individual religious belief may have
- field
- Evolutionary psychology, anthropology of religion
- known_for
- Investigating the evolutionary roots of religious behavior and belief
- related_species
- Common chimpanzees and bonobos
- key_concepts
- Neocortex size, tool use, language development, morality
Lore & Background
The evolutionary origin of religion draws on evolutionary psychology, the origins of language and mythology, and cross-cultural anthropology. Humanity’s closest living relatives, common chimpanzees and bonobos, share a common ancestor with humans from six to eight million years ago and serve as surrogates for that ancestor. While not religious, these primates exhibit traits necessary for religion’s evolution: high intelligence, symbolic communication, social norms, and a sense of self-continuity. Elephants also perform death rituals, showing prolonged silence and mourning, and later returning to caress remains, suggesting grief across species. A key prerequisite is increased brain size; the hominid brain tripled, peaking 500,000 years ago, with the neocortex expanding from 50% in chimpanzees to 80% in modern humans. Robin Dunbar links neocortex size to social complexity, arguing that archaic Homo sapiens’ speciation around 500,000 years ago enabled language and religion. Stephen Jay Gould proposes religion arose from larger brains cementing group coherence among savanna hunters, enabling reflection on mortality. Tool use also contributed: Lewis Wolpert argues that crafting complex tools required causal beliefs and mental images of nonexistent objects. Chimpanzees, however, also understand causality, as shown by escaping multi-latch pens, and mourn the dead or appreciate aesthetics like sunsets, blurring the human-animal divide. Language development was crucial; religion requires symbolic communication for transmission. Nicholas Wade notes that since religious rituals are verbal, modern religion likely emerged shortly before 50,000 years ago, alongside modern language. Another view distinguishes individual belief, which predates language as a means to explain natural phenomena, from collective belief, which becomes dogmatic through social sanction.
Reader's Guide
Theories on the evolutionary origin of religion often focus on brain size. Stephen Jay Gould suggests religion may have grown out of evolutionary changes favoring larger brains for group coherence among savanna hunters, enabling reflection on mortality. Tool use is also considered: Lewis Wolpert contends that causal beliefs from tool-making played a major role, though chimpanzees also show understanding of causality. Others distinguish individual belief, which may predate language, from collective belief requiring language and social trust. Morality is viewed by Frans de Waal and Barbara King as having grown out of primate sociality.
Did You Know?
- Chimpanzees and bonobos share a common ancestor with humans who lived between six and eight million years ago.
- Elephants perform rituals for their dead, including long periods of silence and returning to grave sites.
- The neocortex occupies 80% of the brain in modern humans, compared to 50% in chimpanzees.
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