Searching for Explanations: Evolutionary Theory & ReligionI’ve been considering the memetic theory of religion over the past year perhaps because the question of how religion does what it does, perpetuating itself through generation after generation is so interesting. How is it that religion continues to survive in the face of changing evidence and changing doctrine? Clearly the Christianity of 1000 years ago is vastly different from that of 100 years ago and even more alien to the versions practiced today.
The social-science answers for the existence of religion, that it acts as a control mechanism used by a ruling power, that it is ala Marx the “sigh of an oppressed creature” is an interesting theory which probably has some merit, but it doesn’t do much to help us understand how religion operates.
Evolutionary thinking seeks to find explanations for behaviors, underlying causes for why organisms devote valuable energy to different pursuits. Because natural selection runs a tight ship, i.e: those behaviors which do not benefit genetic fitness or reproduction are selected against, the phenomena of religion is fascinating since it often does not contribute to genetic perpetuation or even survival, to the contrary, religious practice can be detrimental to the health of the individual and more importantly, reproductive chances. For example, the Buddhist Monk who immolates himself as the result of a religious fervor: this must be explained as the misfiring byproduct of some other “deeper” behavior. Self-destruction is not an explanation in and of itself, for obvious reasons. In the “God Delusion” Richard Dawkins uses the example of moths who obliviously fly themselves into candle flames or bug zappers as an example of a behavior that is initially puzzling until we realize that the moths aren’t actually trying to kill themselves but are acting in ignorance. Moths naturally navigate via the moon and bright stars but with the recent advent of human technology they haven’t learned to differentiate between natural and artificial light sources and therefore meet early deaths when they stray too close to the flame or electric field. ‘Why are the moths committing suicide’ is the wrong question. Instead we should be asking what is the apparent suicidal behavior a byproduct of? In this case we know the answer, the behavior is a byproduct of the need to navigate via fixed light sources.
Religion as a Byproduct
When we apply the byproduct theory to religion we gain fascinating insights into the root cause of the behavior. Instead of asking what evolutionary purpose does religion serve we can rethink our question and ask what might religion be a byproduct of. The evolutionary benefit of religion is interesting, but is itself a different category of inquiry, if we want to understand the root of the phenomena we must adjust our question. In much the same way that the moth’s suicidal action is actually a byproduct of a selected behavior (navigation), religion too must be a byproduct of some other genetic tendency.
Humans are born with an innate drive to unquestioningly accept what they are told; a trait that strongly manifests itself in our earliest, most formative years of life. The reasons for this adapted behavior are obvious: those children who didn’t trust the elders ended up getting eaten by crocodiles near the swamp edge, ate the wrong berries, or wandered too far from camp. As it turns out, our success as a species depended on an absence of skepticism and belief in the things that our elders told us. Children who did not unquestioningly trust their parents had a much greater chance of dying prematurely, while those children who did believe what they were told survived to pass on their genes and the memetic framework of the tales they had come to believe.
Motivation, Fear
As a young species we still bear the hallmarks of our baser, early nature. We have yet to shed our fear of the dark, our large adrenaline glands and our strong tendency towards tribalism. We remain quick to anger, judgment and offense. The behaviors which served to motivate us when we lived in the treetops remain, increasingly to our collective detriment, and it is from these early wellsprings of primitive fear that religion draws sustenance. The Jesuit priests once had a common saying: “Give me a boy for his first 7 years and I’ll give you the man”. Unfortunately we humans are still taking advantage of the trust behavior born into every child; instead of just teaching our young about reality and how to cope with life in a modern world we, by in large, fill their minds with legends and fairytales, stories, memes, which are themselves also a byproduct of the trust behavior: over thousands of years, our fear of the dark (and the lions that lurked there within) evolved into grander schemes, supernatural stories, morality tales and superhuman myths. This is where Marx and the social scientists enter: those people who were able to understand religion, as a byproduct behavior, found within their hands an immense, moldable power, the ability to shape minds. Is it any wonder that prior to global navigation religions existed in geographical isolation? No, when the memetic virus is contained to an island the only inhabitants affected are those who are taught as children.
Labels: Evolution, religion, Richard Dawkins, theory
