What do you think about this theory? I wondered why so many people are religious and I came up with this explanation.
(I’m sure I’m not the first to come up with this theory, so don’t start yelling ‘You stole that from <link>’. If you do have a link to similar theories, please feel free to post that link.)
I asked myself 'why did we evolve into a religious beings''? To some of you, this must seem like a contradicto in terminis, but I think I do have a way to explain religion scientifically.
We've established in other threads that we are social animals. One of the things many social animals evolve, is a sense of hierarchy. There's always an 'alpha-male' (in lions, sealions, wolfs etc.) or a matriarch (elephants, hyenas) to lead the herd/pack/pride, whatever you want to call it.
The instinct to obey those that are higher in rank can be clearly seen in dogs. Wolfs have a hierarchy as well, and dogs (being bred from wolves) seem to have an instinctive urge to obey the alpha male (which should be the owner of the dog).
Now are you starting to see a pattern here? We are a social species too, and we too obey those who are higher in rank. Our parents, our boss at work, the police, our drill instructor in the army, our teacher in school, the president, the king, the pope etc.
I think that religion is a way of serving a hypothetical alpha-male, because you instinctively want to. Evolution has conditioned you to obey and do what you've been told from higher up in the hierarchy. Like wolves or elephants, we too like to be guided by a powerful individual. Sometimes this leads to dramatic results; we’ve all heard of suicide sects with charismatic leaders.
Religious people point to the bible and say 'This is what our Lord wants us to do.’ I imagine that this must be the modern day equivalent of following the dominant elephant matriarch to greener fields, or following the dominant wolf who’s chasing a deer. God or gods are a perfect ways of serving the perfect leader and of fulfilling an instinct. Especially if what he has said is ‘inerrant.’ Religion takes away the burden of responsibility by making decisions for you and by telling you how to live your life. It cannot possibly be your mistake, if god told you to do it. (Remember the killer from that movie, Se7en?)
Anyway, here’s a nice quote, and I’m curious what you think of my little rant
Here's a nice quote to top this off
Give us gods. Oh give them us!
Give us gods.
We are so tired of men
and motor-power.
- D.H. Lawrence