The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures

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Penguin, Nov 12, 2009 - Social Science - 320 pages
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Noted science writer Nicholas Wade offers for the first time a convincing case based on a broad range of scientific evidence for the evolutionary basis of religion.
 

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User Review  - lindap69 - LibraryThing

skimmed this one, basically states that religion followed the evolutionary path with human development - not sure all of the hard science evidence is here Read full review

THE FAITH INSTINCT: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures

User Review  - Kirkus

A provocative account of the development of religion.People have been practicing religion for thousands of years, but they have been practicing morality even longer. In this probing work of science ... Read full review

Selected pages

Contents

THE NATURE OF RELIGION
THE MORAL INSTINCT
THE EVOLUTION OF RELIGIOUS BEHAVIOR
MUSIC DANCE AND TRANCE
ANCESTRAL RELIGION
THE TRANSFORMATION
THE TREE OF RELIGION
MORALITY TRUST AND TRADE
THE ECOLOGY OF RELIGION
RELIGION AND WARFARE
RELIGION AND NATION
THE FUTURE OF RELIGION
Notes
Acknowledgements Index
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures
Nicholas Wade
No preview available - 2010
The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and why it Endures
Nicholas Wade
No preview available - 2010
The Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and why it Endures
Nicholas Wade
No preview available - 2009

Common terms and phrases

Aborigines adaptive American ancestors ancient anthropologist Arab argued Assyria authority became become belief central century ceremonies changed Christianity church civilizations cohesion commitment countries culture dance death developed divine early effect emerged emotional empire evidence evolution evolutionary evolved existence experience fact faith fear follow force genes genetic given gods hands human hunter gatherer idea individuals influence interest Islam Islanders Jesus Jews Judaism kill known language later least less living means mind moral movement natural observers origin percent perhaps political population possible practice priests primitive principle probably reason religion religious behavior rites ritual role Roman rules sacred sects secular seems selection shaped shared social societies spirits suggests supernatural texts theory trust United University University Press values warfare women writes York

About the author (2009)

Nicholas Wade received a BA in natural sciences from King’s College, Cambridge. He was the deputy editor of Nature magazine in London and then became that journal’s Washington correspondent. He joined Science magazine in Washington as a reporter and later moved to The New York Times, where he has been an editorial writer, concentrating on issues of defense, space, science, medicine, technology, genetics, molecular biology, the environment, and public policy, a science reporter, and a science editor.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Faith Instinct
TitleThe Faith Instinct: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures
AuthorNicholas Wade
PublisherPenguin, 2009
ISBN1101155671, 9781101155677
Length320 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Religion / History
Social Science / Sociology / Social Theory
Social Science / Sociology of Religion
  
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