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Evolutionary Psychology01:20

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Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the human psyche...
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Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

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Published on: September 28, 2018

Religion, morality, evolution.

Paul Bloom1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. paul.bloom@yale.edu

Annual Review of Psychology
|September 28, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Religion significantly impacts moral behavior, influencing both positive and negative actions. However, these effects stem from general human practices rather than solely from specific religious beliefs.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Anthropology

Background:

  • The evolution of religion is often linked to its potential role in promoting group cohesion and altruism.
  • Scholarly debate exists on whether religious evolution specifically enhanced prosocial behaviors within groups.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between religion and moral behavior, including altruism and prejudice.
  • To determine if religious beliefs have a unique impact on morality distinct from other human practices.

Main Methods:

  • Review of survey studies conducted within and across various countries.
  • Analysis of priming experiments assessing religious influence.
  • Examination of correlational studies on religion's effect on racial prejudice.

Main Results:

  • Religion demonstrates both significant positive and negative moral effects.
  • These moral impacts are largely attributable to aspects of religion common to other human practices.
  • Empirical evidence for a unique moral effect of specifically religious beliefs is limited.

Conclusions:

  • Religion profoundly influences moral actions and beliefs.
  • The moral consequences of religion are intertwined with broader human social behaviors.
  • The distinct impact of religious tenets on morality requires further investigation.