Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: Whisper
I honestly don't know that evolutionary laws and ideas could be so finely applied to such a distinct higher-level component of human cognition as the desire to express spirituality. I see the point you're trying to make--that spirituality might be a condition that occurs secondary to the particular way in which the human neocortex has evolved--but to say that spirituality is an evolutionary adaptation is taking quite a few leaps.
As for the law, I can see how it'd be a major problem, although if implemented correctly (i.e., if they promote the same level of critical analysis towards ID/creationism that they direct at natural selection and evolution), it might foster higher-order thinking. Not that I think it'll happen, but eh, one can hope.
You're absolutely right, it is a rather large leap -- I have read (granted only in "new scientist" which runs toward speculation at times) about before. What I'm saying is that there could certainly be reasons for a human predilection for the supernatural that are entirely natural in and of themselves.
This is something I agree with, and I've seen it as a manifestation of the human need "to know." It was our instincts, our curiosity, our needs to adapt to an ever-changing environment that brought us to where we are. Our significant advantage, of course, is our brain. We don't have the natural abilities to hunt, survive long winters, or long ocean-voyages that other specialized animals have. However, we can make tools.
Another necessary part of our survival is an ability to understand nature around us, to better prepare for an oncoming winter, a tidal flood for the best time to plant our crops, the seasonal approach of a migratory herd, etc. This invariably leads to greater curiosity about the things around us. It stands to reason that those who are more curious, those with the greater need to know, were the ones who adapt better. Religion comes from this need to know, a way of explaining why things happen around us. Why they change. Why we die.
This is a primordial need in humans, and is not something that should be taken lightly. Religion itself is certainly not genetic (I.E, there is no "Christain gene," just as there is no "Hindu gene," or "Judaism gene," or "Islam gene," etc.), but it does appear that this need for a spirituality has been passed on. Perhaps it's a need to feel humble? Perhaps we need to restrict ourselves, perhaps it was those who were cautious about the world around them, maybe due to a belief in a higher power (such as the "Wind God"), that passed their genes on to modern humans.
Like when fire was first discovered. There's evidence that during this early period of human evolution, vast forests were burned to the ground. Perhaps it was those who would simply light a stick and run free with it that burned themselves and their genes into obscurity, while the early man that humbled himself before this awesome power of fire, followed a set of rules to appease the Fire God-: make in stone berth, do not anger, that were successful.