*lightbulb*

[dreamer_easy]

Of course Dawkins explains religion as a meme - that is, a sort of cultural virus. If it isn't an external, infectious agent, then from his perspective, it must have evolved - meaning it must grant some survival advantage.

Comments

[adrian-middle.livejournal.com]

Granting a survival advantage to nomadic pastoralists 2000 years ago doesn't automatically convey a survival advantage now.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

True - but the point stands!

[adrian-middle.livejournal.com]

Absolutely the point still stands. But there are debates around the development of religion as part of the development of consciousness - as a cultural or social response to physical evolutionary change (a must read book on this is The Origin of Consciousness and the Braekdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes).

While some believe that the evolution of toolmaking has stunted the physical devlopment of humans, its interesting that the battles between creationism and Darwinism and between fundamentalism and liberalism are themselves provide firsm evidence of cultural evolution.