Why do people believe in God? In the devil? In heaven?
In today’s New York Times Magazine, Robin Marantz Henig writes a fascinating story on researchers who are using science–evolution, in fact–to understand why religion has been central to humanity since prehistory. The story focuses on two camps: those who say belief in religion is an evolutionary by-product, and those who say belief is itself an advantageous adaptation.
This debate is different from the traditional clash between science and religion, the attack on science by the religious right and intelligent design, or the attack on religion by people like Richard Dawkins. Henig writes: “Lost in the hullabaloo over the neo-atheists is a quieter and potentially more illuminating debate. It is taking place not between science and religion but within science itself, specifically among the scientists studying the evolution of religion.”
