The Psychology of Religion

A definition of the "psychology of religion" with some examples of research conducted in the field. The article explains why popular explanations for the existence of religion are insufficient. It describes the explanations that scientists use (cognitive, emotional, and evolutionary) and how the history of religion informs these theories.

David Hume said that “all popular theology, especially the scholastic, has a kind of appetite for absurdity and contradiction. If that theology went not beyond reason and common sense, her doctrines would appear too easy and familiar." Researchers have since found that people are attracted to absurdity and that this partially explains our attraction to gods as well as to Marvel movies.

Can any explanation for religion work unless people want the religion to be true? And that's what "motivated reasoning" is: - the mental gymnastics that people perform to convince themselves that their cherished religious beliefs are correct.

How could religion, with its time-consuming rituals, nonsensical beliefs, and wasteful sacrifices have evolved? Shouldn't we have been hunting, gathering, and staying alive instead? Scientists have an answer called the "supernatural watcher hypothesis," in which god-fearing people behaved better, cooperated more, and formed bigger, more powerful civilizations.

Most art is religious art. For thousands of years, we sculpted deities, sung hymns, and performed ritual dances. Religion and art also have much in common. They are evocative, skilfully crafted, attention-grabbing ideas that communicate a message, represent a hidden meaning, and embellish reality. So did they co-evolve as the same behaviour? Or did religion parasitize art?

Without the Sumerian Epic of Ziusudra, the story of Noah would be absent or unrecognizable. However, if Judaism and Christianity hadn’t borrowed from earlier religions, they wouldn’t be here today. Others that “borrowed better” would be instead. Tapping into what people find plausible, desirable, and intrinsically captivating is what successful religions do.

The most obvious answer — to provision the dead on their journey — may be correct. A recent study suggested that humans reason "implicitly" (i.e., unconsciously) as if death is not the end. With time to reflect, atheists override this implicit tendency by "explicitly" (i.e., consciously) reasoning about the lack of evidence for an afterlife.

Some working definitions of atheism, agnosticism, and religion. Our cherished identities are at stake!

Apart from a fear the death, humans appear to have evolved several instincts or "intuitions" that make souls seem especially plausible. These intuitions cause people to think in terms of mind-body dualism, creationism, and a "just world." Soul belief may be inevitable for people without a scientific education.

Was Freud right? Is religion wishful thinking? This article summarizes about thirty scientific studies that support the view that religion is wishful thinking (i.e., a comfort that people fool themselves into believing).

Why do religions ban silly things like pork? Why pretend a wafer is the body of the Messiah? Why wear silly hats and frocks? Most religions include nonsensical behaviours such as these, which begs the question: how did they evolve? These very public behaviours appear to be signals to others in the community.