{"id":144,"date":"2008-11-20T17:00:24","date_gmt":"2008-11-20T21:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/humanspark\/?p=144"},"modified":"2009-07-10T16:22:04","modified_gmt":"2009-07-10T20:22:04","slug":"on-religion-and-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/humanspark\/topics\/human-evolution\/on-religion-and-evolution\/144\/","title":{"rendered":"In the News: On Religion and Evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When you see \u201cevolution\u201d and \u201creligion\u201d in the same headline, certain assumptions about the following article might jump to mind. But this recent study published in Science<\/a><\/em> sets aside the religious critique of evolution and examines how religion itself may be a part of human evolution.<\/p>\n

Remember that evolution\u2019s driving force is each individual\u2019s biological urge to pass on his or her own genes. Life is a competitive enterprise wherein everyone strives to be the most successful breeder around. So some scientists have wondered: why do we find altruism and cooperation in human populations? Looking at the question from a purely evolutionary standpoint, it makes sense to help those who share your genes, but what about others in society you have nothing in common with, let alone a family link? They\u2019re the competition! Psychologists Ara Norenzayan<\/a> and Azim Shariff<\/a> suggest that religion might be one explanation for why altruism persists in large social groups.<\/p>\n

In The Human Spark<\/em>, we focus a lot on the sociality of human beings, especially in comparison to our predecessors. Take a look at these articles to learn a bit more about how a cultural process such as religion can interact with evolution.<\/p>\n