If religion is the product of evolutionary mechanisms in our noetic system?

Question

why should we expect some people to discard it for other beliefs? Would our noetic features not be constituted such that these kind of choices are not volitional but instinctual?

Answer 1

Aprt from anything else, on that evolutionary presupposition, you will get mutation and variation within religious belief as elsewhere.

Pretty much what we actually see. There may be some genetic component (various strands of research have looked at this) but cultural and social characteristics are passed on alongside genes.
Meme theory is a self-example, an idea that is out there propagating, changing, perhaps surviving and flourishing, perhaps a "quirk" heading for oblivion.

A "natural bias" may indeed be present, but if that doesn't account for every single case, the seed for change is present. We are indeed programmed to see patterns, especially faces, which leads some to see constructs in clouds, for example, even where such pattern identification is inappropriate. But we can be awake to what is happening.

Answer 2

Hmmmm. It seems unlikely that it's genetic, because the genetic differences between theistic and atheistic countries are not substantial enough to account for that.

Perhaps we need to look to the root of religion which I would argue is a desire to attribute intent to the unknown... You mistake a shadow for a person, but never a person for a shadow. So maybe when a mountain spews volcanic ash, you think the volcano is angry. The cargo cults are an example of this kind of reasoning.

Perhaps our desire to "personify" things leads to religion and religion itself has worked like its own organism ever sense -- evolving, mutating, etc.

Answer 3

There are many things that are hard-wired into our brains which are not all that useful for modern living, I have no doubt religion is one of them.

Answer 4

And beneficial to the species?