Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'Power and Religion'

Morality without God, Buddhism as Religion, and Christian Empire

August 7th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Classifications of Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, Definitions of Religion, History of Religions, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Morality and Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Power and Religion

Incredibly, there are three articles over at HuffPo Religion that I have recently bookmarked for brief discussion here.  There are of course about ten others which reflect the liberal, progressive, ecumenical, and mystical view of religion adhered to by a tiny minority of people, and which will be of interest mostly to the highly educated [...]

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Power Co-opts Religion: China to Support Buddhism

August 1st, 2010 · No Comments · Atheism and Religion, Axial Age Religions, Civil Religion, Economy and Religion, History of Religions, Power and Religion

The story is a familiar one: a new religion is founded — or, as the sociologist Rodney Stark would say, a new sect is born from an older tradition — and over time it becomes successful.  By success, I mean that it grows, becomes popular, and shows few signs of slowing down.
At some point during [...]

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A Certain Kind of Islam and the Heinous Oppression of Women

July 31st, 2010 · 2 Comments · Classifications of Religion, Methodology of Religion, Morality and Religion, Power and Religion

Not long ago, I discussed an article on Islam by Cynthia Boaz.  In her article, Boaz attempted to correct several misconceptions regarding Islam and presented us with a progressive, liberal, and tolerant interpretation of Islam.  While there are Muslims outside of the US who interpret Islam in the way Boaz does, there are also Muslims [...]

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The Supernatural and Stonehenge

July 25th, 2010 · No Comments · Archaeology and Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, History of Religions, Neolithic Religions, Pagans and Polytheism, Power and Religion, Ritual and Religion

As you can see from Texas A&M’s anthropology aggregating site (which is one of my favorite places on the net), at least a dozen stories have appeared in the past week about new archaeological finds near Stonehenge.  Using ground penetrating radar and other non-invasive technology, archaeologists have discovered another henge — which was wooden, approximately [...]

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Shaman Obama?

July 23rd, 2010 · No Comments · Power and Religion, Shamans and Shamanism

I came across this nicely altered image while searching for photos of shamans.  With the inlaid jade, it looks a bit more like a Mayan king’s headdress than a mere shaman’s.  Regardless, here’s to hoping for some national healing!

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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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Nationalism as Religion

July 20th, 2010 · No Comments · Civil Religion, Classifications of Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, Definitions of Religion, History of Religions, Power and Religion, Recent and New Religions, Ritual and Religion

In a previous post, Religious Wars and Nationalism, I discussed two factors that play a major role in group cohesion.  The first factor, which played a dominant role for the majority of human evolution, was extended and fictive kinship.  This is what primarily held groups together during the Paleolithic.  After the Neolithic Revolution, another factor [...]

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Stephen Hawking on Religion: “Science Will Win”

July 19th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Archaeology and Religion, Axial Age Religions, Cognition and Religion, Cultural Evolution of Religion, History of Religions, Hunter-Gatherers and Religion, Neolithic Religions, Power and Religion

Over at ABC News, Ki Mae Heussner reports on a Diane Sawyer interview of the renowned physicist Stephen Hawking with this contentious headline: “Stephen Hawking on Religion: Science Will Win.”  This is an unfortunate banner.  During the interview, Sawyer asked if religion and science could be reconciled.  Hawking’s response was profoundly unhelpful:
“There is a fundamental [...]

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Religious Wars and Nationalism

July 18th, 2010 · No Comments · Cultural Evolution of Religion, Economy and Religion, History of Religions, Power and Religion, Religion as Evolutionary Adaptation, Religion as Evolutionary Byproduct

Over at HuffPo Religion, Matt Rossano has written a thought provoking piece — which some may find surprising — on the relationship between war and religion.   In Why Religion Does Not Equal War, Rossano begins with the common knowledge that religious differences often lead to war, or that religious differences are often used to justify [...]

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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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