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Over the last two decades, scientific accounts of religion have received a great deal of scholarly and popular attention both because of their intrinsic interest and because they are widely as constituting a threat to the religion they analyse. The Believing Primate aims to describe and discuss these scientific accounts as well as to assess their implications. The volume begins with essays by leading scientists in the field, describing these accounts and discussing evidence in their favour. Philosophical and theological reflections on these accounts follow, offered by leading philosophers, theologians, and scientists. This diverse group of scholars address some fascinating underlying questions: Do scientific accounts of religion undermine the justification of religious belief? Do such accounts show religion to be an accidental by-product of our evolutionary development? And, whilst we seem naturally disposed toward religion, would we fare better or worse without it? Bringing together dissenting perspectives, this provocative collection will serve to freshly illuminate ongoing debate on these perennial questions.
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TH E B E LIEVING PRIMAT E
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THE BELIEVING PRIMATE scientific, philosophical, and theological reflections on the origin of religion
Edited by JEFFREY S C HLOS S and MICHAEL J. MU RRAY
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Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Oxford University Press 2009 The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data The believing primate: scientific, philosophical, and theological reflections on the origin of religion/edited by Michael Murray and Jeffrey Schloss. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978–0–19–955702–8 1. Religion. 2. Human evolution–Religious aspects. I. Murray, Michael J. II. Schloss, Jeffrey. BL430.B45 2009 200–dc22 2008042108 Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk ISBN 978–0–19–955702–8 1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
Jeffrey and Michael dedicate this work to the following individuals, respectively: To Stanley Ogren, John Leedy, James A. Teeri, and C. Richard Tracy—my teachers in the biosciences who inspired me with the thrill of knowing, and of not knowing yet. To R. Preston Mason—for prodding me to follow the evidence wherever it leads, and guiding me to hear and he