Review: The Empirical Stance
Renowned philosopher of science Bas C. van Fraassen (Princeton University) had long remained silent on issues of religion. So by his own admission he was […]
Predestined to be liberal?
Most people like to think they’ve carefully thought out their positions. They’ll say that they’ve fairly assessed both sides of an issue and have come […]
Religion affects decisions by shaping how we perceive
How do we make decisions? It may seem to be a question more suited for philosophical treatises or neuroscience journal articles than the study of […]
Religiosity and dogmatism
We’ve all seen it: religious extremists with signs protesting a seemingly innocuous event. Or perhaps hardcore believers dogmatically arguing with someone about religion. But are […]
Born into religion
It is often taken for granted that children will just inherit the religion of their parents. Clearly, it seems, nurture trumps nature in terms of […]
Prominent skeptic: Religion may be adaptive after all
In the nine years since the radical Islamist terrorist attacks on the U.S. of September 11th, 2001, plenty of scholars and researchers have trained their […]
Religion is a celebration of excellence: Review of – ‘Born Rich’
One of the major theories of religion advanced in the 19th century, most particularly by Nietzsche, is that it is fueled by envy, fear, and […]
Ann Taves’s Religious Experience Reconsidered
For those of us who view some features or aspects of religion (such as ritual or religious experience) as adaptive, their sui generis character presents […]
Bruya’s Effortless Attention
Everyone has experiences of being “in the zone.” These usually occur while engaged in some challenging but enjoyable activity, like playing basketball or ballroom dancing. […]
Biocultural models of the evolution of religion need to take onboard – The sacral or divine kingship’
Most accounts of the evolutionary origins of religion refer to the shamanistic complex of behaviors as the first set of behaviors that were recognizably – religious’. […]