is there any evolutionary advantage to being religious?

Question

beyond the assumption that god strikes dead the blasphemeous with lightening?
Even if there is no god, is it still beneficial to believe in one?

Answer 1

Indirectly there could be some benefit to associating oneself with a religion. From the perspective of instinctual behavior, an animal's entire existence is based on passing its genes from one generation to another. Once an animal has passes its reproducing prime, its main objective is to ensure that its offspring successfully mate and reproduce.

Given these facts, there would be an evolutionary benefit to a person if that person were to join a religion that encourages frequent reproduction. This can be seen in many world religions. However, in the animal world, males will often mate with other females, to ensure that his genes are being passes on to the next generation, via various female mates. This type of behaviour is generally frowned upon in most religions.

Could there be an evolutionary advantage to religion? Possibly.
Will the effects of this advantage be noticeable? Probably not

Answer 2

hahaha thats a good question. I wouldnt think its an advantage to be religious simply because many people who are strictly religious are usually quite close minded about the natural world.
Even the Aztecs who believed in all sort of different gods, were not better survivors for it. An evolutionary or adaptive advantage is one that increases someone's fitness(reproductive potential) or survivability.....sacrificing yourself for the sun God isn't really helping you in that department.

hahaha so no, I dont think it would be any type of advantage. I like how you took the two sides of the fence and put them into one..
good stuff!

Answer 3

If anything, being overly religious can be bad for the species. Let's take Christianity for instance. Christians believe that as long as they are good people and lead the kind of lives that God willed to them, they will have eternal life in heaven. Now, that says nothing about humanity prospering or adding 20 years onto your life. In fact, I'd go as far to say that most martyrs are dead, dead and buried. And their not coming back to help humanity in anyway. If you share this belief then I guess you wouldn't want to be religious, huh?

Answer 4

there grew to become into certainly an exciting concept I heard approximately. It says that we developed to be fearful of issues regardless of if there wasn't any actual possibility, "in simple terms in case". A rustle interior the timber is probable not something, yet there's a slender possibility it quite is a predator. even nevertheless there is not any significant possibility, it quite is greater effective to be scared and flee then stay and take the possibility. i've got faith this comparable intuition facilitates faith: there is not something to point there is something to be troubled approximately, yet although if there is an extremely helpful being it quite is not quite certainly worth the possibility of stressful him. If faith grew to become into innocuous then there could be no issue with this.

Answer 5

Yes.
Read Evolution by Stephen Baxter.

Belief in G-d kept the Israelites cohesive in culture, making them warlike. They fought and conquered in the promised land -- probably would not have done that without a belief in G-d.

Religion has to do with seeing connections where none really exist (e.g. blood sacrifice keeps your crop growing). A similar ability to see connections where none exist gives us creativity and inventiveness.

Answer 6

yes. because not so long ago people were killed/punished if they doubt the conjectures that were invented by the pope.
Also around 400 years ago there were more believers than disbelievers , thus obviously it was an advantage then.

Answer 7

From an purely evolutionary stance, there is no advantage.

Answer 8

If your religion encourages you to have more babies, then yes.