RELIGION AND THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO FALSE BELIEFS
Dunbar R.
Religion has played a particularly important role in human evolution. It is the one trait that categorically distinguishes us from other animals. Yet it is about belief in a world that does not exist - the spirit world. I shall argue that it arises through two very ancient psychological predispositions. A tendency for the magical to have priority when we cannot see an obvious explanation and a strong tendency to be attracted to charismatic leaders. The first is a derivative of our advanced mentalising capacities, which allow us to imagine worlds that do not exist. The second is seems to be associated with the fact that networks that evolve leaders work more efficiently. Both of these played a central role in our evolution as a species.