Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'Emotions and Religion'

Christian America and Religious Intolerance

August 11th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Atheism and Religion, Axial Age Religions, Civil Religion, Emotions and Religion

In an odd article that attempts to situate Anne Rice’s very public proclamation that she is leaving the Catholic Church within the larger context of American Christianity, Los Angeles Times religion reporter William Lobdell makes two apparently contradictory claims:

American Christianity is not well, and there’s evidence to indicate that its condition is more critical [...]

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Religion Reduces Anxiety — Sound Familiar?

August 3rd, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Cognition and Religion, Emotions and Religion, History of Religions, Religion as Evolutionary Byproduct, Ritual and Religion

“Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress.  Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the [...]

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Ground Zero is “Sacred Ground”

July 21st, 2010 · No Comments · Civil Religion, Definitions of Religion, Emotions and Religion, Power and Religion

In yesterday’s post on the religion of nationalism, I noted that Ground Zero is sacred ground for the believer-patriots of American national religion.  If you questioned this assertion, doubt no more — the GOP has produced an incendiary video which declares that Ground Zero is “sacred ground” and that an Islamic mosque cannot be built [...]

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Religious Odds and Ends

July 17th, 2010 · No Comments · Cultural Evolution of Religion, Daily Devolutions, Emotions and Religion, History of Religions, Power and Religion, Ritual and Religion

Gunning for God:  Over at the Atlantic Wire, Heather Horn reports on a new Louisiana law that allows concealed carry permit holders to bring their guns to church, but only if they receive an additional 8 hours of training.  No word on whether this additional training includes doctrinal or theological instruction on who may be [...]

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Near Death Experiences: Portal to Another Realm?

July 16th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Cognition and Religion, Emotions and Religion, Religion as Evolutionary Byproduct

There are many who believe that near death experiences (“NDE”) provide evidence of the existence of a spirit-soul and that those who have these close encounters with death have glimpsed another realm.  Over at Brain Blogger, Jennifer Gibson discusses some recent studies of NDEs in a post titled “Light at the End of the Tunnel [...]

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The Nature of “Natural”: Foucault and Wittgenstein

July 14th, 2010 · No Comments · Emotions and Religion, Evolution and Selection, Methodology of Religion, Morality and Religion, Power and Religion

In my last two posts (The “Sin” of Sodomy and “Natural Moral Law“), I have been considering the naturalness of sexual physiologies and preferences.  By serendipitous accident, yesterday I read Bob Plant’s (2006) article, “The Confessing Animal in Foucault and Wittgenstein,” in which he observes that these famous philosophers are connected by their shared suspicion [...]

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“God Can Be Experienced But Not Explained”

July 9th, 2010 · No Comments · Cognition and Religion, Emotions and Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Recent and New Religions

Over at WaPo’s Faith section, Martha Woodroof has posted a dreary piece that discourages people from asking religious questions or seeking answers.  Here are some of the more defeatist excerpts:

As people of faith, should we concern ourselves with God’s nature, relatives, ways and history?  I, for one, think we should not. It seems to [...]

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Angst and Brainsoothing Religion

June 30th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Atheism and Religion, Cognition and Religion, Emotions and Religion, Religion as Evolutionary Adaptation, Religion as Evolutionary Byproduct

Over at HuffPo Religion, Wray Herbert asks whether religious belief soothes the worried mind and reports on some new research suggesting it does.  Scholars have been asking this question for quite a long time, and many have simply assumed that religion does in fact sooth troubled minds.  Freud reached this conclusion in Future of an [...]

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Placebo Effects and Shamanic Healing

June 22nd, 2010 · No Comments · Cognition and Religion, Emotions and Religion, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Religion as Evolutionary Adaptation, Religion as Evolutionary Byproduct, Shamans and Shamanism

There are some scholars — such as James McLenon and Stephen Sanderson, who contend that shamanic techniques of healing played in an important role in the evolution of religion.  I tend to agree and discussed the issue in “Judge Not and Be Persuaded (or Healed):
“Essential to McClenon’s argument is that the people being treated by [...]

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Enlightened Religionists Chide the Masses

June 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Atheism and Religion, Axial Age Religions, Classifications of Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, Definitions of Religion, Emotions and Religion, Recent and New Religions

In the beginning, I had some hope for the Huffington Post’s relatively new section devoted to religion.  Here was a forum, I thought, where difficult questions could be asked and possible answers ventured.  Not once, however, have I read a post which asks a tough question, which might include any of the following:

What is “religion”?
Why [...]

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