Description
Book SynopsisThis book argues that religion has emerged over evolutionary time as a strategy for managing the transmission, contraction, and eradication of infectious disease. From purity and pollution codes to blood sacrifices and irrational beliefs, the book shows how religion supports not only the physiological immune system, but the behavioral and psychological immune systems as well. The book also addresses those moments when it appears that religion becomes maladaptive, that is, when religion causes “autoimmune problems,” such as celibacy and anti-vaccination. Engaging material ranging from evolutionary and social psychology to human behavioral ecology, biological anthropology, Darwinian medicine, and religious studies, the book proposes that in order to understand the human animal’s enduring fascination with religion, one must take into account the enduring need to manage infectious disease.
Trade ReviewAn intelligent and wholly 21st-century perspective on religion. Thomas B. Ellis masterfully explains how the behavioral immune system is causally responsible for many of the curiosities surrounding human religiosity. A forward-pointing contribution to the scientific study of religion. * Robert C. Fuller, Emeritus Professor, Bradley University, USA *
Table of Contents1. Introduction: Approaching Religion With the Scientific Attitude 2. The Biology of Religion: There Will Never be a Darwin for the Crown of Thorns? 3. Religion as Extended Phenotype: The Behavioral Immune System 4. Religion’s Vital Lie: The Psychological Immune System 5. Religion’s Curative Violence: The Physiological Immune System 6. At War with the Body: When Religion Becomes the Infection 7. Conclusion: Religion and Public Health, Today and Tomorrow Bibliography Index
