The Selective Advantage of Religion

Colleen Rowley

Carl Sagan once theorized about the evolutionary benefits religion has in our species. He made up a chemical that made us feel religious which he called "Theophorin" and speculated on it's selective advantage. Theophorin gives us an "intense feeling of awe and humility before a power vastly greater then ourselves" and in doing so establishes a social dominance hierarchy that ensures stability and morality.

Of course, there is no Theophorin, and up to this point no such chemical has ever been found to be responsible for the uniformity of religion across all cultures. However, that has not halted an interest in science from uncovering the "God Particle" in our species. In a new study called "Explaining Religion", scholars from 14 universities attempt to explain human's religiosity by employing multiple disciplines of science, including philosophy, anthropology, sociology and biology.

The experiments it will sponsor are designed to look at the mental mechanisms needed to represent an omniscient deity, whether (and how) belief in such a "surveillance-camera" God might improve reproductive success to an individual's Darwinian advantage, and whether religion enhances a person's reputation-for instance, do people think that those who believe in God are more trustworthy than those who do not? The researchers will also seek to establish whether different religions foster different levels of co-operation, for what reasons, and whether such co-operation brings collective benefits, both to the religious community and to those outside it.