Why religion is nothing special but is central

Maurice Bloch1

  • 1Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics, London WC2A 2AE, UK. m.e.bloch@lse.ac.uk

Summary

Evolutionary explanations of religion are misleading. Instead, focus on unique human sociality, essentialized roles, and imagined communities, which rely on developed imagination, possibly emerging during the Upper Palaeolithic revolution.

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