Breaking the Spell: Reconsidering Cognitive and Evolutionary Approaches to Atheism

IF 0.5 2区哲学 0 RELIGION

Method & Theory in the Study of Religion Pub Date : 2020-07-09 DOI:10.1163/15700682-12341501

K. Szocik, K. Messick

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

The scientific study of nonreligion has been described as being ‘under the spell’ of religion because the vast majority of research investigates nonbelief in respect to belief. This has resulted in a number of problematic theories, including the leading cognitive science of religion (CSR) theory that claims that religious belief is innate, and so to be a nonbeliever is to violate cognitive predispositions. This article critically analyzes innateness theories and encourages the development of further theories that incorporate social, adaptive, cultural, evolutionary, and biological factors in addition to cognitive contributors. This article details the roles of adaptive and functional aspects of nonbelief, the influence of credibility enhancing displays (CRED s), and the influence of cultural context on nonbelief as they are not sufficiently explained by CSR theories. It is proposed that future theories study nonreligion in its own right, instead of respective to religion, so that a broader range of unique characteristics can be accounted for without inaccurately and inadequately phrasing theories in terms of naturalness.

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打破魔咒:重新考虑无神论的认知和进化方法

对非宗教的科学研究被描述为“受宗教的蛊惑”，因为绝大多数研究都是在信仰方面调查非宗教的。这导致了许多有问题的理论，包括领先的宗教认知科学（CSR）理论，该理论声称宗教信仰是天生的，因此不信教就违反了认知倾向。本文批判性地分析了先天性理论，并鼓励进一步发展理论，除了认知因素外，还包括社会、适应性、文化、进化和生物因素。本文详细介绍了非贝利的适应性和功能性方面的作用，以及可信度增强显示（CRED）的影响 s），以及文化背景对非企业社会责任的影响，因为企业社会责任理论没有充分解释这些影响。有人提出，未来的理论研究的是非宗教本身，而不是宗教，这样就可以解释更广泛的独特特征，而不会在自然性方面对理论进行不准确和不充分的表述。

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来源期刊

Method & Theory in the Study of Religion RELIGION-

CiteScore

1.40

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Method & Theory in the Study of Religion publishes articles, notes, book reviews and letters which explicitly address the problems of methodology and theory in the academic study of religion. This includes such traditional points of departure as history, philosophy, anthropology and sociology, but also the natural sciences, and such newer disciplinary approaches as feminist theory and studies. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion also concentrates on the critical analysis of theoretical problems prominent in the study of religion.