The Evolution of Religion, Religiosity and Theology

The Evolution of Religion, Religiosity and Theology PDF Author: Jay R. Feierman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000704858
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 301

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Book Description
This book takes a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary approach to religion, religiosity and theology from their earliest beginnings to the present day. It uniquely brings together the natural sciences and theology to explore how religious practice emerged and developed through the four sections into which the book is organized: Evolutionary biology; Philosophical linguistics, psychology and neuroscience; Theology and Anthropology. The volume features an international panel of contributors who develop an innovative picture of religion as a culturally-created social institution; religiosity as a more personal and subjective anthropological element of people expressed through religion; and theology as the study of god. To survive in changing times, living systems — a good characterization of religion, religiosity and theology — all must adaptively evolve. This is a vital study of a rapidly burgeoning field. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars in religious studies and theology as well as in the psychological, sociological, and anthropological study of religion.

The Evolution of Religion, Religiosity and Theology

The Evolution of Religion, Religiosity and Theology PDF Author: Jay R. Feierman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000704858
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Get Book

Book Description
This book takes a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary approach to religion, religiosity and theology from their earliest beginnings to the present day. It uniquely brings together the natural sciences and theology to explore how religious practice emerged and developed through the four sections into which the book is organized: Evolutionary biology; Philosophical linguistics, psychology and neuroscience; Theology and Anthropology. The volume features an international panel of contributors who develop an innovative picture of religion as a culturally-created social institution; religiosity as a more personal and subjective anthropological element of people expressed through religion; and theology as the study of god. To survive in changing times, living systems — a good characterization of religion, religiosity and theology — all must adaptively evolve. This is a vital study of a rapidly burgeoning field. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars in religious studies and theology as well as in the psychological, sociological, and anthropological study of religion.

Religion Explained

Religion Explained PDF Author: Pascal Boyer
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 046500461X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Many of our questions about religion, says renowned anthropologist Pascal Boyer, are no longer mysteries. We are beginning to know how to answer questions such as "Why do people have religion?" Using findings from anthropology, cognitive science, linguistics, and evolutionary biology, Religion Explained shows how this aspect of human consciousness is increasingly admissible to coherent, naturalistic explanation. This brilliant and controversial book gives readers the first scientific explanation for what religious feeling is really about, what it consists of, and where it comes from.

The Evolution of Religions

The Evolution of Religions PDF Author: Lance Grande
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231559313
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 728

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Book Description
Thousands of religions have adherents today, and countless more have existed throughout history. What accounts for this astonishing diversity? This extraordinarily ambitious and comprehensive book demonstrates how evolutionary systematics and philosophy can yield new insight into the development of organized religion. Lance Grande—a leading evolutionary systematist—examines the growth and diversification of hundreds of religions over time, highlighting their historical interrelationships. Combining evolutionary theory with a wealth of cultural records, he explores the formation, extinction, and diversification of different world religions, including the many branches of Asian cyclicism, polytheism, and monotheism. Grande deploys an illuminating graphic system of evolutionary trees to illustrate historical interrelationships among the world’s major religious traditions, rejecting colonialist and hierarchical “ladder of progress” views of evolution. Extensive and informative illustrations clearly and vividly indicate complex historical developments and help readers grasp the breadth of interconnections across eras and cultures. The Evolution of Religions marshals compelling evidence, starting far back in time, that all major belief systems are related, despite the many conflicts that have taken place among them. By emphasizing these broad historical interconnections, this book promotes the need for greater tolerance and deeper, unbiased understanding of cultural diversity. Such traits may be necessary for the future survival of humanity.

The Origin and Evolution of Religion (Routledge Revivals)

The Origin and Evolution of Religion (Routledge Revivals) PDF Author: Albert Churchward
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317587693
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
Churchward’s The Origin and Evolution of Religion, first published in 1924, explores the history and development of different religions worldwide, from the religious cults of magic and fetishism to contemporary religions such as Christianity and Islam. This text is ideal for students of theology.

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries)

The Reluctant Mr. Darwin: An Intimate Portrait of Charles Darwin and the Making of His Theory of Evolution (Great Discoveries) PDF Author: David Quammen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393076342
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
"Quammen brilliantly and powerfully re-creates the 19th century naturalist's intellectual and spiritual journey."--Los Angeles Times Book Review Twenty-one years passed between Charles Darwin's epiphany that "natural selection" formed the basis of evolution and the scientist's publication of On the Origin of Species. Why did Darwin delay, and what happened during the course of those two decades? The human drama and scientific basis of these years constitute a fascinating, tangled tale that elucidates the character of a cautious naturalist who initiated an intellectual revolution.

The Evolution of Belief

The Evolution of Belief PDF Author: J. Gregory Steiner
Publisher: Archway Publishing
ISBN: 1480863858
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
The Dalai Lama once said that when science demonstrates something in opposition to a religious tenet, the religious belief must step back. Yet Christianity has often been resistant to such an approach, and many modern, educated Christians find themselves stuck at the intersection of science and traditional religious dogma and doctrine. The Evolution of Belief provides new ways of thinking about essential items of Christian belief, and the modern Christian is invited to move ahead in a credible way with the use of new analogies applied to creation, incarnation, redemption, and other Christian beliefs and practices. Author J. Gregory Steiner shows how a so-called baggage of beliefs, hung on the clothesline of ones faith, needs to be continually cleaned out and rejuvenated, insisting that traditional understandings of Christianity should be made more palatable and accommodating of the discoveries of science and technology. Viewed from an ever-developing saga of historical influences upon Christian belief and the evidence provided by science, there could very well be more questions generated than answers. But this can result in a positive experience, because credible insights into this novel perspective will truly lead ones faith further into the unending discovery of God.

The Origin and Evolution of Religion

The Origin and Evolution of Religion PDF Author: Albert Churchward
Publisher: Book Tree
ISBN: 9781585090785
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
Other than Sir James Frazer (The Golden Bough), Churchward is the only person to have written such a monumental work on religion. In it he encompasses the complete evolution of religious ideas over millions of years. The first humans from Africa worshipped elemental powers, progressed into ancestor worship, then finally began to recognize what we could term a Great Spirit. Some of our earliest mythological stories are told, including tales of Resurrection, journeys to the underworld, and the first hero stories. Also explored are the meanings and true origins of sun worship, tree worship, phallic worship, and serpent worship. Ends with something we should all take to heartour religious evolution is definitely not over.

Bridging Science and Religion

Bridging Science and Religion PDF Author: Ted Peters
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 9781451418798
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
This extraordinary volume models a fruitful interaction between the profound discoveries of the natural sciences and the venerable and living wisdoms of the world's major religions. Bridging Science and Religion brings together distin-guished contributors to the sciences, comparative philosophy, and religious studies to address the most important current questions in the field. Sponsored by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, it is an ideal starting point for novices, yet has much to offer academics, professionals, and students. Part 1 establishes a working methodology for bridge-building between scientific and religious approaches to reality. Part 2 lays down the challenge to current theological and ethical positions from genetics, neuroscience, natural law, and evolutionary biology. Part 3 offers a religious response to modern science from scholars working out of Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Orthodox, Latin American Catholic, and Chinese contexts. Showcasing attitudes toward science from outside the West and an inclusive and comparative perspective, Bridging Science and Religion brings a new and timely dimension to this burgeoning field.

The Evolution of Religion

The Evolution of Religion PDF Author: Edward Caird
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780598865793
Category : Christianity
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description


The Evolution of God

The Evolution of God PDF Author: Robert Wright
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316053279
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 576

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Book Description
In this sweeping narrative that takes us from the Stone Age to the Information Age, Robert Wright unveils an astonishing discovery: there is a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have followed as they have evolved. Through the prisms of archaeology, theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright's findings overturn basic assumptions about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and are sure to cause controversy. He explains why spirituality has a role today, and why science, contrary to conventional wisdom, affirms the validity of the religious quest. And this previously unrecognized evolutionary logic points not toward continued religious extremism, but future harmony. Nearly a decade in the making, The Evolution of God is a breathtaking re-examination of the past, and a visionary look forward.