2021
The Role of Evolved Psychological Mechanisms in Religious Rituals
LANG, MartinBasic information
Original name
The Role of Evolved Psychological Mechanisms in Religious Rituals
Authors
Edition
International Congress of Psychology 2020+ 2021
Other information
Language
English
Type of outcome
Presentations at conferences
Field of Study
60304 Religious studies
Country of publisher
Czech Republic
Confidentiality degree
is not subject to a state or trade secret
References:
Organization unit
Faculty of Arts
Tags
International impact, Reviewed
Changed: 16/2/2022 17:14, Mgr. Ivona Vrzalová
Abstract
In the original language
The study of religions and similarly complex cultural phenomena was traditionally conducted by scholars in the humanities and social sciences; however, in the past 30 years, the field of religious studies experienced an exponential growth of evolutionarily and cognitively oriented approaches, which significantly broadened the toolkit for studying religions. Harnessing this interdisciplinary toolkit, scholars can now study religions as complex adaptive systems and focus their investigations on various levels of complexity of the studied phenomena, from particular mechanisms and their functional connections to the workings of the whole system in its cultural niche. Moreover, adding the evolutionary dimension to the investigated phenomena can further elucidate the origins and development of religious systems, allowing for mutual corroboration of theories between various complexity levels. In this talk, I will illustrate the complex-adaptive-systems approach by examining the evolutionary paths of various aspects of religious behaviors and beliefs, focusing mainly on their underlying evolved mechanisms that help facilitate cooperation, coordination, and group cohesion. In support, I will present evidence from laboratory experiments, field studies, and ethnographic databases.
Links
| CZ.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/19_074/0012727, interní kód MU (CEP code: EF19_074/0012727) |
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