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Here’s a really intriguing article on the current science behind religious belief in the New York Times – Evolution and Religion – Darwin’s God.

Lost in the hullabaloo over the neo-atheists is a quieter and potentially more illuminating debate. It is taking place not between science and religion but within science itself, specifically among the scientists studying the evolution of religion. These scholars tend to agree on one point: that religious belief is an outgrowth of brain architecture that evolved during early human history. What they disagree about is why a tendency to believe evolved, whether it was because belief itself was adaptive or because it was just an evolutionary byproduct, a mere consequence of some other adaptation in the evolution of the human brain.

(via Seed)

Possibly related posts:

1. Ottawa Citizen article on religion and atheism
2. On the Origins of Religion
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4. Dawkins on Religion
5. The Early Course of Autism