DOCSLIB.ORG

The Varieties of Religious Purpose James A. Montanye

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Varieties of Religious Purpose James A. Montanye Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 25.2 (2017) 141–170 ISSN 1522-7340 (print) ISSN 2052-8388 (online) https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.34335 The Varieties of Religious Purpose James A. Montanye Independent Scholar [email protected] Abstract This essay argues thateconomic scarcity, along with mankind’s evolved pro- pensity for reciprocity, are keys to understanding the origins and evolution of Western religion in all its varieties and purposes. Scarcity is religion’s first cause uncaused. Eusocial cooperation and productive efficiency, which are mobilized by religion, are shown to be inherent and rational responses to scarcity. The reformation that began around 1500 CE represents the substi- tution of efficient secular (civil) religions for traditional theological varieties. The balance between traditional and secular religions is determined by cost, benefits, and the structure of economic payoffs. Keywords religion, metaphysics, spirituality, secularization, sociology, reciprocity, economics, entrepreneurship, markets, faction Introduction Plato’s eponymous Euthyphro dialogue recounts a colloquy between Socrates and the title character regarding mankind’s curious relationship with its gods. Socrates inquired about the nature of piety. Euthyphro smugly professed expertise in the matter, averring that “it is a considerable task to acquire any precise knowledge of these things, but, to put it simply, I say that if a man knows how to say and do what is pleasing to the gods at prayer and sacrifice, those are pious actions such as preserve both private houses and [the] public affairs of state” (Plato 1997a, 14). Socrates interpreted Euthyphro as claiming that piety is “knowledge of how to give to, and to beg from, the gods […] And to beg correctly would be to ask from them things that we need […] And to give correctly is to give them what they need from us, for it would not be skilful to bring gifts to anyone that are in no way needed” (14). These interpretations prompted correlative questions: “piety would then be a sort of trading skill between gods and men? […] There is for us no good that we do not receive from [the gods], but how are they benefited by what they receive from us? […] Or do we have such an advantage over them in the trade that © Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2017, Office 415, The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield, S1 2BX 142 TheVarieties of Religious Purpose we receive all our blessings from them and they receive nothing from us?” (14–15). Euthyphro ultimately asserted that the essence of piety is “honour, reverence, and […] gratitude” (15). Perhaps, Socrates suggested in Plato’s Apology, piety entails merely acting as morally good and virtuous individuals. Two veiled insights within this dialogue ground a comprehensive under- standing of ancient, traditional, and modern religious forms. The dialogue first casts religion as a natural human response—partly inherent, and partly rational—to the natural scarcity of economic resources. Piety would be unnecessary in the absence of scarcity: in an environment of superabundance, piety would exist (if at all) merely as an affectation. The purpose of religious piety, in all its varieties, is to mobilize efficient behavioural responses to scar- city. As a product of rational choice, religion is economics all the way down. Lionel Robbins canonically defined the nature of economics as “the science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses” (Robbins 1962 [1935], 16). The biologist Richard Dawkins observes more broadly that “[n]atural selection is a miserly economist […] It’s economics everywhere you look: unconscious calcula- tions, ‘as if’ deliberately weighing up the costs and benefits” (Dawkins 2015, 53; 55). Religion, like economic science and evolution, is applied economics, and scarcity is its first cause uncaused. Euthyphro’s second insight regards the significance of mankind’s inherent sense of reciprocity; that is, the moral and pragmatic obligation “to return good in proportion to the good we receive, and to make reparation for the harm we have done” (L. Becker 1990, 3). Piety, which is reciprocity occa- sioned by mankind’s awareness of scarcity, presumes to compensate Nature and Nature’s gods for their benevolence. From these two obvious, yet profound insights flows not only a compre- hensive understanding of religion’s origins, but also the basis for its evolution and spread, for its diversification away from saving individual souls, and for the trend of secularization. This essay begins by unpacking Euthyphro’s insights. The next two sections characterize religion, as broadly conceived, from an economics perspective that transcends conventional philosophical, sociological, and “religion and economics” analytics (see, for example, Ekelund et al. 1996; Stark and Finke 2000; Witham 2010). The following section visualizes the varieties of reli- gious purpose in the “private houses and public affairs” of human existence. The essay concludes in the final section. Unpacking Euthyphro Piety in the face of scarcity is the foundation of traditional religious beliefs and practices. We beg and bargain with the gods for the scarce resources that support life. The gods’ indulgence imposes reciprocal obligations upon us, © Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2017 James A. Montanye 143 which we satisfy through worship and sacrifice. QED. Euthyphro exposes the weakness of this conventional thinking. The universality of religion’s anthropomorphic exchange relationship richly suggests that traditional religion is an aspect of mankind’s evolved propensity for eusocial (highly social) behaviour (Wilson 2012). Reciprocal eusociability is both an inherent, and a rational response to the adverse consequences of resource scarcity. Reciprocity is logically prior to the eusocial propensities for cooperation and exchange. Cooperation without reciprocity would amount to pure altruism, which would be deleterious to individual welfare, and so could not have survived natural selection. Logical order notwithstanding, mankind’s bundle of eusocial propensities most likely co-evolved in parallel with changes to the oxytocin (trust) system (Ridley 2010, 7). Results from brain imaging studies establish that gods are anthropomorphic projections of mankind’s eusocial nature. One study concludes that “praying to God is an intersubjective experience comparable to ‘normal’ interpersonal interaction” (Schjoedt and others 2009). Another study concludes that “the brain areas identified in […] fMRI studies are not unique to processing reli- gion, but [also] play major roles in social cognition. [This] implies that reli- gious beliefs emerged, not as sui generis evolutionary adaptations, but rather as an extension […] of social […] behaviour” (Kapogiannis and others 2009). The gods are invisible, but otherwise they are all too human. Eusocial cooperation, reciprocity, and exchange constitute universal “pas- sions” that represent both efficient adaptations and rational behavioural responses to scarcity constraints. Gods are imagined as being perfect cooper- ating partners that appear not only to provide for our essential needs, but also to accept whatever payment we choose to offer in return. Elementary eco- nomic theory provides an insight regarding the appropriate level of reciprocal payment (but not necessarily the appropriate level of “honour, reverence, and […] gratitude” to which Euthyphro referred). Within an economically efficient cosmos, prices (payment) would equal the marginal cost of produc- tion. Accordingly, omnipotent gods that satisfy mankind’s needs and wants ex nihilo—at zero marginal cost—would neither require nor demand payment for their services. More perfect exchange partners cannot be imagined. Faith in such perfection, Anselm argued, is the gods’ defining characteristic: “a being than which nothing greater can be conceived. […] And it assuredly exists so truly, that it cannot be conceived not to exist” (Anselm 1939 [1078], 8). This faith rests upon “assurances of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 18:1), but it also corresponds with the experience of scarcity and reciprocity. Mankind’s fundamental propensity is reciprocity, which Euthyprho asso- ciated with piety. Experience teaches that few, if any, good things in life are free, apart from Nature’s raw bounty. Most good things must be acquired © Equinox Publishing Ltd. 2017 144 TheVarieties of Religious Purpose through individual effort, sacrifice, and exchange. (One exception issuffering , which some Catholic sects revere as a gift from God. Christians more typi- cally imagine suffering as a duty owed to God, for which divine reciprocity is an afterlife reward.) Nothing comes from nothing where scarcity and com- petition prevail. The Nobel economist Milton Friedman (1975) labeled this the “TANSTAAFL Principle: “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch,” contrary claims by hucksters and demagogues notwithtanding. Friedman argued from a rational economics perspective. Evolutionists and sociobiologists argue instead that Darwinian natural selection internalized reciprocity as an aspect of mankind’s inherently eusocial nature. Instinct and reason together instruct individuals that something of value must be surren- dered as the price for acquiring highly valued things. The sense that reciprocal exchange is fair arises partly from a cluster of cortical spindle cells that is ded- icated to judging conditions of fairness (Newberg and Waldman 2006, 118).
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Folk Psychology of Souls
    BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2006) 29, 453–498 Printed in the United States of America The folk psychology of souls Jesse M. Bering Institute of Cognition and Culture, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom. [email protected] qub.ac.uk/icc http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/InstituteofCognitionCulture/Staff/ JesseMBering/ Abstract: The present article examines how people’s belief in an afterlife, as well as closely related supernatural beliefs, may open an empirical backdoor to our understanding of the evolution of human social cognition. Recent findings and logic from the cognitive sciences contribute to a novel theory of existential psychology, one that is grounded in the tenets of Darwinian natural selection. Many of the predominant questions of existential psychology strike at the heart of cognitive science. They involve: causal attribution (why is mortal behavior represented as being causally related to one’s afterlife? how are dead agents envisaged as communicating messages to the living?), moral judgment (why are certain social behaviors, i.e., transgressions, believed to have ultimate repercussions after death or to reap the punishment of disgruntled ancestors?), theory of mind (how can we know what it is “like” to be dead? what social-cognitive strategies do people use to reason about the minds of the dead?), concept acquisition (how does a common-sense dualism interact with a formalized socio-religious indoctrination in childhood? how are supernatural properties of the dead conceptualized by young minds?), and teleological reasoning (why do people so often see their lives as being designed for a purpose that must be accomplished before they perish? how do various life events affect people’s interpretation of this purpose?), among others.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Religion on Values and Behavior in Kenya Naomi Wambui
    THE IMPACT OF RELIGION ON VALUES AND BEHAVIOR IN KENYA NAOMI WAMBU50I European Journal of Philosophy, Culture and Religious Studies ISSN 2520-4696 (Online) Vol.1, Issue 1 No.1, pp50-65, 2017 www.ajpojournals.org THE IMPACT OF RELIGION ON VALUES AND BEHAVIOR IN KENYA 1* Naomi Wambui Post Graduate Student: Finstock University *Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected] Abstract Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of religion on values and behaviour in Kenya. Methodology: The paper adopted a desk top research design. The design involves a literature review of existing studies relating to the research topic. Desk top research is usually considered as a low-cost technique compared to other research designs. Results: Based on the literature review, the study concluded that religion has positive impact on values and behavior. The study further concludes that a belief in fearful and punishing aspects of supernatural agents is associated with honest behavior, whereas a belief in the kind, loving aspects of gods is less relevant. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study recommended that policy makers should review policies involving religion by changing commonly held beliefs regarding the Constitution and religion. The study also recommended that religious leaders and parents take special care of the religious formation of children, especially during the transition period from childhood to adolescence, when they are most likely to lose their religious faith. Keywords: religion, values, behaviour 51 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study Religious practice appears to have enormous potential for addressing today's social problems.
    [Show full text]
  • ISSP Data Report – Report Data ISSP Current This Research
    Das International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) erhebt jährlich Umfragedaten zu sozialwissenschaftlich relevanten Themen. Der vorliegende ISSP Data Report – Religious Attitudes and Religious Change beruht auf ISSP-Daten, die zu drei verschiedenen Zeitpunkten innerhalb von 17 Jahren in bis zu 42 Mitgliedsländern zu Einstellungen gegenüber Kirche und Religion im weitesten Sinne gesammelt wurden. Jedes Kapitel wurde von unterschiedlichen Autoren der ISSP-Gemeinschaft geschrieben und beleuchtet mit Hilfe der ISSP-Daten spezielle Aspekte religiöser Einstellungen und religiösen Wandels im internationalen Vergleich. In der Gesamtschau ergeben sich sowohl Einblicke in das religiöse Leben verschiedener Länder, als auch insbesondere Erkenntnisse zu den Einflussfaktoren religiösen Wandels innerhalb von fast zwei Dekaden. The annual survey of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) provides data on topics relevant in social research. This current ISSP Data Report – Religious Attitudes and Religious Change examines data collected at three different points over 17 years, from up to 42 ISSP member countries, covering various facets of respondents’ attitudes towards Church and Religion. Individual chapters were written by different members of the ISSP community thereby offering a cross-national, comparative perspective on particular aspects of religious attitudes and religious change via ISSP data. Overall, this report offers insights into the religious landscapes of various countries and in particular information about the factors influencing
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychology of Religion
    The Psychology of Religion Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi This course will introduce students to the two main approaches in the psychology of religion, the personal and the social. The personalistic psychology of religion is tied to psychoanalysis, starting with Sigmund Freud. The social psychology of religion draws on academic social science research. While the personalistic psychology of religion uses analogies and insights from individual psychodynamics in asking about the content of religious beliefs, the social psychology of religion seeks the correlates of religious beliefs in social space and social behavior. Both approaches are equally important in this course. TOPICS OF CLASS DISCUSSIONS AND PREPARATORY READINGS: (Films and guest speakers to be added) 1. Defining psychology and religion Ch. 1 in Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997 2. History and methodology of the psychological study of religion Chs. 2, 3, 4, 5 in Beit-Hallahmi, 1989 Ch. 3 in Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997 3. Psychoanalysis: Basic concepts 4. Psychoanalysis: Basic concepts 5. Explaining religious behavior: 16 hypotheses Ch. 2 in Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997 6. Explaining religious behavior: 16 hypotheses Ch. 6 in Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997 Chs. 8, 9 of Beit-Hallahmi, 1989 7. Predicting religious behavior Ch. 8 in Argyle & Beit-Hallahmi 1 8. Correlates of religiosity: individual level Ch. 9, 10 in Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle 9. Correlates of religiosity: group level Ch. 11 in Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle 10. The psychoanalytic interpretation of religion Ch. 7 in Beit-Hallahmi, 1989 Freud- The Future of An Illusion 11. Conversion Ch. 7 in Beit-Hallahmi & Argyle, 1997 12. Summing up- looking at the 16 hypotheses Ch.
    [Show full text]
  • THE BRAIN and the SOUL Joseph
    THE BRAIN AND THE SOUL Joseph Lee OR CHRISTIANS the human soul traditionally represents the spirit F within, the life of the body, rationality and a passage through death into eternity. But today questions are being raised about the soul. There can be a disinclination to discuss it because of unwelcome overtones of dualism. Some people are even asking, ‘whatever happened to the soul?’ 1 and ‘do we still need a soul?’ 2 Modern biology demonstrates the role of the brain in how people experience meditation, liturgy and religious behaviour.3 A popular idea is that a ‘God spot’, a specific area active in religious experience, exists in the brain.4 But it still appears intuitively improbable that: … our most private feelings, original perceptions, special skills, hard- won achievements—our individuality, consciousness, our very souls and our ability to explain ourselves in language—are entirely determined by the electrical-chemical activity of a soft, wrinkled, grey-and-white 5 lump of matter that you could comfortably hold in one hand. 1 See Whatever Happened to the Soul? Scientific and Theological Portraits of Human Nature, edited by Warren S. Brown, Nancey Murphy and H. Newton Malony (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998); What about the Soul? Neuroscience and Christian Anthropology, edited by Joel B. Green (Nashville: Abingdon, 2004); Eric L. Johnson, ‘Whatever Happened to the Human Soul? A Brief, Christian Genealogy of a Psychological Term’, Journal of Psychology and Theology, 26 (1998), 16–28; and Patrick D. Miller, ‘Whatever Happened to the Soul?’, Theology Today, 50 (1994), 507–510. 2 Francis Selman, ‘Do We Still Need a Soul?’, Priests and People (April 1994), 149–152.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the Agnostic Age: Law, Religion, and the Constitution
    Alabama Law Scholarly Commons Working Papers Faculty Scholarship 1-6-2011 Introduction to The Agnostic Age: Law, Religion, and the Constitution Paul Horwitz University of Alabama - School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.ua.edu/fac_working_papers Recommended Citation Paul Horwitz, Introduction to The Agnostic Age: Law, Religion, and the Constitution, (2011). Available at: https://scholarship.law.ua.edu/fac_working_papers/523 This Working Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Faculty Scholarship at Alabama Law Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Working Papers by an authorized administrator of Alabama Law Scholarly Commons. introduction What is truth? said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. — Francis Bacon 1 It is a sad thing for the human race that Pilate went out without waiting for the answer; we should know what truth is. — Voltaire 2 Most scholars of law and religion have something important in common with Pontius Pilate, and an important difference. Here is the common point: Like Pilate, they throw up their hands at the question: “What is truth?”3 And here is the difference: At least Pilate was willing to ask the question. Not so with today’s leading theorists on freedom of religion. Indeed, if there is any single question they are most likely to fl ee, it is the question of religious truth—the question of the nature of the universe, the existence of God, and our own fate after death. That question, and how to approach it, is the subject of this book.
    [Show full text]
  • Scientific Agnosticism
    SCIENTIFIC AGNOSTICISM When flailing about for a meaningful topic for my ever‐looming presentation to the fellowship, I happened upon a review of a book intriguingly titled “When God is Gone, Everything is Holy: The Making of a Religious Naturalist”, in an issue of UU World. After reading the review and a few others, I knew that I had found my topic! So, armed with my newly‐purchased, very accessible, user‐friendly book, and a case full of flag‐type post‐it notes, I set to work. My strategy was to mark a few particularly‐meaningful passages as I read, that I would later easily compile into an overview of the book. Oh, how naïve I was. This is where that flagging strategy led me. Either I’m not selective enough or this guy is really profound. I found so many passages that I wanted to remember when writing an overview of the book, and I wanted to do Dr. Raymo’s message justice. Dr. Raymo’s message struck a chord with me on several levels. We each approached spirituality after being imprinted in the Catholic religious tradition, moving away from traditional beliefs toward more science‐based perspectives. I recognized his name immediately, as the author of an astronomy book that I used as a reference when I taught an after‐school nature journaling class for elementary school students. For me, just a quick glance into the night sky has long instilled a sense of wonder and an appreciation for the fact that my world is vaster than my imagination and that I am a small part of a universe or universes beyond my understanding.
    [Show full text]
  • 'Neuer Atheismus'
    THOMAS ZENK ‘Neuer Atheismus’ ‘New Atheism’ in Germany* Introduction Matthias Knutzen (born 1646 – died after 1674) was some of the characteristics and remarkable traits of the first author we know of who self-identified as an the German discourse on the ‘New Atheism’. Here atheist (Schröder 2010: 8). Before this, the term had we can distinguish between two phases. The Ger­ solely been used pejoratively to label others. While man media initially characterised ‘New Atheism’ as a Knutzen is almost completely forgotten now, authors rather peculiarly American phenomenon. However, such as Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Friedrich it soon came to be understood to be a part of German Nietzsche , or Sigmund Freud are better remembered culture as well. and might even be considered classic writers in the history of the atheist criticism of religion. Whatever may be said about the influence of any one of these The making of a German ‘New Atheism’ authors, there is no doubt that Germany looks back The terms ‘New Atheism’ and ‘New Atheist’ were on a notable history in this field. About a decade ago, originally coined in November 2006 by Gary Wolf, Germany’s capital Berlin was even dubbed ‘the world an American journalist and contributing editor at the capital of atheism’ by the American sociologist Peter lifestyle and technology magazine Wired, in the art­ L. Berger (2001: 195).1 icle ‘The Church of the Non­Believers’ (Wolf 2006a).3 Given this situation, I am bewildered by the ex­ Interestingly, only two weeks later, the term ‘New pression ‘New Atheism’.2 Yet, undoubtedly, the term Atheist’ appeared in the German media for the first has become a catchphrase that is commonly used in time.4 In a newspaper article in Die Tageszeitung dat­ the public discourse of several countries.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of Covid-19 on Orthodox Groups and Believers in Russia
    The Impact of Covid-19 on Orthodox Groups and Believers in Russia Anastasia V. Mitrofanova Abstract This chapter intends to discover how Orthodox groups and believers of different ideological orientations in Russia reacted to the 2020 world health crisis. Its fo- cus lies on the groups and individual believers from the field of Russian Ortho- doxy who could be labelled as ‘fundamentalists’. Therefore, an analysis of the offi- cial ecclesiastical reaction to the pandemic will be provided, that underlines how some contradictory messages from above caused significant numbers of believers to sympathize with the so called “corona-dissidents” within the Church. Under the topic ‘dissidents’, various other groups apart from the fundamentalists such as the moderate traditionalists, liberals, or individuals who usually follow the mainstream ecclesiastical opinion, can be subsumed. Furthermore, it could be observed that fundamentalists mostly discuss themes that might be common for all “dissidents”, although they are more open towards their criticism in view of the mainstream reactions. They stick to the assumption that both mundane and ecclesiastical leaders have discredited themselves and need to be replaced. Keywords: Orthodox Christianity, Covid-19, Ecclesiastical Lockdown, Corona- Dissidents, Fundamentalist Networks, Traditionalism, Russian Orthodox Church 1. Introduction This chapter intends to discover how Orthodox groups and believers of different ideological orientations in Russia reacted to the 2020 world health crisis. It focusses on groups and individuals who are labelled as “fundamentalists”, because they be- lieve for instance that the entire socio-political life should be changed in terms of 48 AnastasiaV.Mitrofanova collective religious salvation.1 Apart from the official position of the Moscow Pa- triarchate («the patriarchal platform»), Irina Papkova distinguishes three informal political ideologies within the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC): liberal (associated with intra-church movements initiated by late Fr.
    [Show full text]
  • Mystical Experiences, Neuroscience, and the Nature of Real…
    MYSTICAL EXPERIENCES, NEUROSCIENCE, AND THE NATURE OF REALITY Jonathan Scott Miller A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2007 Committee: Marvin Belzer, Advisor Kenneth I. Pargament Graduate Faculty Representative Michael Bradie Sara Worley ii © 2007 Jonathan Miller All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Marvin Belzer, Advisor Research by neuroscientists has begun to clarify some of the types of brain activity associated with mystical experiences. Neuroscientists disagree about the implications of their research for mystics’ beliefs about the nature of reality, however. Persinger, Alper, and other scientific materialists believe that their research effectively disproves mystics’ interpretations of their experiences, while Newberg, Hood, and others believe that scientific models of mystical experiences leave room for God or some other transcendent reality. I argue that Persinger and Alper are correct in dismissing mystics’ interpretations of their experiences, but that they are incorrect in asserting mystical experiences are pathological or otherwise undesirable. iv To Betty, who knows from experience. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks are due to all the members of my committee, for their extreme patience, both when I was floundering about in search of a topic, and when my work had slowed to a trickle after an unexpected and prolonged illness. I feel especially fortunate at having been able to assemble a committee in which each of the members was truly indispensable. Thanks to Ken Pargament for his world-class expertise in the psychology of religion, to Mike Bradie and Sara Worley for their help with countless philosophical and stylistic issues, and to Marv Belzer, for inspiring the project in the first place, and for guiding me through the intellectual wilderness which I had recklessly entered! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I.
    [Show full text]
  • New Atheism and the Scientistic Turn in the Atheism Movement MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI
    bs_bs_banner MIDWEST STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY Midwest Studies In Philosophy, XXXVII (2013) New Atheism and the Scientistic Turn in the Atheism Movement MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI I The so-called “New Atheism” is a relatively well-defined, very recent, still unfold- ing cultural phenomenon with import for public understanding of both science and philosophy.Arguably, the opening salvo of the New Atheists was The End of Faith by Sam Harris, published in 2004, followed in rapid succession by a number of other titles penned by Harris himself, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Victor Stenger, and Christopher Hitchens.1 After this initial burst, which was triggered (according to Harris himself) by the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, a number of other authors have been associated with the New Atheism, even though their contributions sometimes were in the form of newspapers and magazine articles or blog posts, perhaps most prominent among them evolutionary biologists and bloggers Jerry Coyne and P.Z. Myers. Still others have published and continue to publish books on atheism, some of which have had reasonable success, probably because of the interest generated by the first wave. This second wave, however, often includes authors that explicitly 1. Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason (New York: W.W. Norton, 2004); Sam Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation (New York: Vintage, 2006); Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006); Daniel C. Dennett, Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon (New York: Viking Press, 2006); Victor J. Stenger, God:The Failed Hypothesis: How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist (Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2007); Christopher Hitchens, God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (New York: Twelve Books, 2007).
    [Show full text]
  • The Psychology of Religious Behaviour, Belief and Experience
    The psychology of religious behaviour, belief and experience The Psychology o f Religious Behaviour, Belief and Experience is the most comprehensive survey available of theories and research on religion from the perspective of psychology. Religious belief is never evenly distributed, and is correlated with such variables as social background, gender and personality characteristics. Beit-Hallahmi and Argyle use findings in these areas to test numerous explanations of the origins and functions of religion in human culture. They also consider social consequences of religiosity, religious experience, religious attitudes, the effect of religion on health, the acquisition of beliefs, conversion, and the benefits or otherwise of religion. Their main conclusion is that religiosity is first and foremost social, and is learned like other kinds of social acts. Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi and Michael Argyle are renowned for their clear, analytical approach, and this new state-of-the-art study of psychology and religion is no exception. It will be welcomed as an update to their pre­ vious work in the area by social psychologists, sociologists and theologians worldwide. Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi is Professor of Psychology, University of Haifa, Israel, and the author of several books, including The Social Psychology of Religion (1975) with Michael Argyle. Michael Argyle is Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Oxford Brookes University, and has written over twenty books, including The Social Psychology of Everyday Life (1992) and The Psychology of Social Class (1994).
    [Show full text]