Abstract
Each of the previous chapters has acknowledged the relevance of evolutionary theory to the CSR. I now address the connection more directly through a new evaluative criterion I have labelled ‘evolutionary plausibility’. Evolutionary plausibility refers to the CSR’s consistency with evolution by natural selection. The key question concerns whether religion appeared as a by-product of cognitive functions adapted for non-religious purposes. Given the weight of evidence supporting evolution by natural selection, satisfying evolutionary plausibility seems essential. To achieve my goal it will be necessary to consider several evolutionary mechanisms that have been proposed to explain the acquisition and transmission of religious concepts.KeywordsReligious BeliefGroup SelectionReligious PracticeEvolutionary PsychologistCognitive MechanismThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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