Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion

Entries Tagged as 'Homo religiosus'

A Tale of Two Religion Scholars & A Conversion

October 3rd, 2010 · 10 Comments · Atheism, Cultural Evolution, Ecology, Evolutionary Adaptation, Evolutionary Byproduct

This tale begins with Dr. Michael Blume, an evolutionary biologist who writes Homo religiosus — The Natural History of Religion.  His early studies focused on “neurotheology,” or the myriad ways in which naturally evolved aspects of brain-mind give rise to supernatural beliefs.  His current studies focus on the second pillar of evolutionary success — reproductive [...]

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Myth as History — On Religious Texts

September 4th, 2010 · No Comments · History, Methodology

Among scholars and historians of religion, there has long been an unfortunate tendency to treat myth as mere text — disembodied, free-floating, timeless, and ahistorical.  In such non-contexts, myth is considered to be something universal or essential, that which captures and expresses archetypes, or even worse, an archaic and tentative approach to monotheism.
In the fifth [...]

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Homo Religiosus, Religion, and Fertility: A Conversation with Michael Blume

June 4th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Cognition, Ecology, Evolution, Evolutionary Adaptation, Evolutionary Byproduct, History, Hunter-Gatherers, Shamanism

I recently found an excellent blog, Homo religiosus — The Natural History of Religion, written by the German scholar Dr. Michael Blume.  After I linked to his blog, Michael came over here for some reading.  He also had a question, which I answered, and he responded.  The issue we are discussing — higher fertility rates [...]

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