Abstract
This paper proposes the religious evolution by natural selection adapting to civilizational shifts from technological revolutions, and survival of the fittest. For an example, the parallel religious evolutions by natural selection in the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and India (Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Hinduism) are through the adaptations to the civilizational shifts from technological revolutions in terms of the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and the Advanced Iron Age. The civilizational shift from tribal nations with national kings and polytheism during the Bronze Age to a mega empire with one centralized emperor and deity during the Iron Age produces the parallel religious evolutions from theocratic polytheistic Pre-Deuteronomic Judaism to theocratic monotheistic Judaism in the Middle East and from theocratic polytheistic Vedism to theocratic monotheistic Brahmanism in India. The civilizational shift for the rise of ordinary people during the Advanced Iron Age produces the parallel religious evolutions from theocratic monotheistic Judaism to spiritual monotheistic Christianity in the Middle East and from theocratic monotheistic Brahmanism to spiritual monotheistic Buddhism in India. The absorption of Christianity by modified Judaism resulted in Islam to dominate the Middle East, and in parallel, the absorption of Buddhism by Brahmanism resulted in Hinduism to dominate India. As a result, Pre-Deuteronomic Judaism-Judaism-Christianity-Islam in the Middle East is parallel to Vedism-Brahmanism-Buddhism-Hinduism in India. In conclusion, the parallel religious evolutions by natural selection in the Middle East and India are through the adaptations to the civilizational shifts from the technological revolutions. The religious evolution theory is the foundation of religious pluralism as the biological evolution theory is the foundation of biological multi-species. The religion in the coming Intelligence Age is the religious evolution theory which explains the relations among religions, and maintains the original religions and their texts.
Highlights
In Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism (Beneke, 2006)
This paper proposes the religious evolution by natural selection adapting to civilizational shifts from technological revolutions, and survival of the fittest
The absorption of Christianity by modified Judaism resulted in Islam to dominate the Middle East, and in parallel, the absorption of Buddhism by Brahmanism resulted in Hinduism to dominate India
Summary
In Beyond Toleration: The Religious Origins of American Pluralism (Beneke, 2006). Chris Beneke demonstrates how the United States managed to overcome the religious violence and bigotry that characterized much of early modern Europe and America. The result is religious pluralism where no culturally and historical influenced religion is absolute. The proposed religious evolution by natural selection is through the adaptations of religions to civilizational shifts from technological revolutions, and survival of the fittest (Chung, 2019). The biological evolution theory is the foundation of biological multi-species, and in the same way, the religious evolution theory is the foundation of religious pluralism. As in the Hick’s religious pluralism, known religions are culturally and historically influenced, religions are justified by the adaptations to civilizational shifts, and absoluteness has no meaning in the religious revolution theory as a whole.
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