The Dancing Species: How Moving Together in Time Helped Make Us Human
Dancing is a human universal, but why?
Aeon
Topics: Empathy Human Evolution Ritual
Do Humans Have a ‘Religion Instinct’?
Are spiritual beliefs an inevitable consequence of evolution?
BBC Future
Topics: Andrew Newberg Belief Bonding Evolution of Religion Morality Religiosity Ritual Scientific Study of Religion Spirituality
Is Ritual a Tool for Resilience?
The relationship between religion, ritual, and cultural resilience.
Science on Religion
Topics: Nature Religiosity Resilience Ritual Scientific Study of Religion
How and Why Did Religion Evolve?
Can the roots of spiritual behaviors and feelings be found in other animals?
Topics: Animal Studies Bonding Emotion Empathy Evolution of Religion Ritual Scientific Study of Religion
Following Conflict, a Turn to the Divine
Study shows that many who experience the trauma of war become increasingly religious.
The Harvard Gazette
Topics: Cooperation Group Conflict Religiosity Religious Groups Ritual Violence
What Science Can Learn From Religion
Hostility toward spiritual traditions may be hampering empirical inquiry.
The New York Times
Topics: David DeSteno Meditation Models of Science & Religion Ritual Science & Religion Dialogue Spirituality
War and Religion
Survey data from Uganda, Sierra Leone, and Tajikistan shows that people with greater exposure to war were more likely to participate in Christian or Muslim religious groups and rituals.
CIFAR
Topics: Religiosity Religious Groups Ritual Violence
Mysterious People of North America’s First Native City Welcomed Immigrants, Scientists Discover
Cahokia, with its 30m Monk’s Mound pyramid, was a cultural hub for 250 years — before its peoples vanished.
Newsweek
Topics: Religious Change Ritual Spirituality
Gods Are Everywhere Because It’s Hard to Bargain With Them
The cognitive similarities between institutional life and religion.
Topics: Cognition Cultural Evolution Evolution of Religion Imagination Religiosity Ritual Scientific Study of Religion
Why Are People Religious? A Cognitive Perspective
These psychological adaptations help us to sustain belief in religion.
The Conversation
Topics: Belief Cognition Faith Ritual
Are Your Political Beliefs Like a Religion?
A new way of thinking about religion suggests that the answer is yes.
Topics: Meaning Ritual
Synthesizing Empirical Findings and Theory in the Scientific Study of Religion
The SEFT Project is an initiative to survey the work that’s been done in the scientific study of religion thus far — to step back and take a bird’s-eye view of what the field has accomplished, where it’s come from, and where it might go next.
Topics: Evolution of Religion Ritual Scientific Study of Religion
When and Why Do People Become Atheists? New Study Uncovers Important Predictors
The less that parents “walk the walk” about religious beliefs, the more likely their children are to walk away.
Big Think
Topics: Atheism Belief Religious Change Ritual Scientific Study of Religion
Creating God
An in-depth look at a provocative idea about the origin and purpose of the world’s religions.
Hidden Brain, NPR
Topics: Azim Shariff Belief Cooperation Cultural Evolution Evolution of Religion Faith Religiosity Ritual Trust
Feasting Rituals — and the Cooperation They Require — Are a Crucial Step Toward Human Civilization
How did civilization emerge from small groups of hunter-gatherers? Some archaeologists focus on cooperation as the vital ingredient — and find evidence for it in the form of feast-related artifacts.
Topics: Civilization Cooperation Ritual Social Behavior
Does Marching to the Same Rhythm Always Unite Us? Our New Study Says No
Rhythm and synchrony might be exactly what you don’t want if you’re trying to accomplish a practical goal.
Topics: Cooperation Ritual
A Cognitive (and Social) View of Ritual
A new paper by top thinkers in psychology and cognitive anthropology sets out exactly what distinguishes ritual from everyday actions, and why we human beings spend so much time and energy performing — and observing — rituals.
Topics: Emotion Ritual Self-Control
Religion Is Uniquely Human, But Computer Simulations May Help Us Understand Religious Behavior
Can artificial intelligence accurately simulate people’s religious tendencies in the face of disaster and tragedy?
Topics: Ritual Scientific Study of Religion
A Twist in Discussions of Chimpanzee Spirituality
The author of a study discusses findings and possibilities with anthropologist Barbara J. King.
13.7: Cosmos & Culture
Topics: Animal Studies Awe Religiosity Ritual Spirituality Wonder
Are Suicide Bombings Really Driven by Ideology?
An interview with Harvey Whitehouse, the director of the Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Oxford.
Nautilus
Topics: Belonging Bonding Group Conflict Ritual
Did Human Sacrifice Help People Form Complex Societies?
The debate over how well ritual killings maintained social order.
The Atlantic
Topics: Cultural Evolution Evolution of Religion Power Ritual Scientific Study of Religion Social Inequality Violence
© 2014 - 2019 ScienceSites Inc.
New Search
New Search
New Search