How Did Religion Evolve?

"Naturalism Next joins me to discuss 'the cognitive science argument against theism.' We talk about the psychology of religion, hyperactive agency detection, signaling theory, and more on the evolutionary origins of religious belief. Crucially, theories from modern cognitive science of religion are antecedently more likely on naturalism than on theism, and so provide good evidence against theism.

"We have plausible natural mechanisms that account for religious belief and practice – how they form and how they spread. The persistence and prevalence of religious belief can be understood through the framework of evolutionary theory and cognitive science of religion, providing us an answer to the question, 'If God doesn’t exist, why does nearly everyone believe in God?'"

Click on the link below for an enlightening, balanced podcast on the history and science of religion:

How we have religion