On Human Nature

Of all human behaviors, the “predisposition to religious belief is the most complex and powerful force in the human mind and in all probability an ineradicable part of human nature” (169). In every instance of recorded human history, there has been evidence of religious beliefs and practices of some kind. While skeptics of religious belief may desire its removal from human culture by scientific study, there is no evidence that this will be the case. Skeptics have adopted one approach to religion, while others have taken to compartmentalization—in which religion and science can coexist as two different modes of viewing the world. The paradox of religion and science’s coexistence is that “societies progress by knowledge but survive on inspiration derived from the very beliefs which that knowledge erodes” (172). The existence and persistence of religious practice are due to the two factors of “genetic advantage” and “evolutionary change” (172).

As with all human institutions, the evolution of religion is directly related to the manner in which it enhances human flourishing (at least for those who practice it). The practice of religion can be beneficial to both individual and group. What makes the practice of religion curious from a genetic