Science&Cocktails: How Religion Evolved and Why It Endures by Robin Dunbar
All the Science & Cocktails events I’ve attended have been wonderful.
However, I observed that people were very tired by the time the talk started.
Here is my tip if you are introverted or sensitive and want to reserve your energy for science:
- Skip the alcoholic cocktails
- Eat something instead
- Try to avoid small talk
- Enjoy the music part from the hall
Evolutionary Psychology Nerds Gather Around
Dunbar in the house.
I could talk about this event for hours, but let's not go there. I'll share a few interesting facts that I haven’t heard of earlier and blow my mind.
Social life is stressful
That is true. Being religious usually means having a busy social life and engaging in social activities, aka religious rituals.
Hence the question:
Why do we spend our energy on religion?
The answer? Because it’s good for our brains. The aforementioned religious rituals are good for our bodies and well-being.
They also made to create a sense of belonging.
The religious rituals I’m talking about are the gatherings on a certain day and hour. That makes people feel safe. Everyone knows each other, and there is a sense of continuity in it.
Praying can feel like meditation. Your mind is at ease, and your body is relaxed. After the relaxation, the group usually sings or chants.
Singing increases a feeling of happiness thanks to the hormones your brain releases while singing. Singing also helps optimize your breathing. Here are some scientific evidence on why singing is good for your body and soul.
Chimps don’t go to church
Humans are capable of 5th-order mentalizing like no other animal. And that is super important.
Why?
Because if you are only capable of 4th-order mentalizing, that means that you only believe that you can be God, but you are not able to make fans.
It’s called the Social Brain Hypothesis, and you can read more about it here.
In short, humans have developed a complex and huge brain. It’s not just a bed of roses, tho. It also means that our behaviour is getting complicated.
We come up with an idea and that causes stress, so we come up with another idea that will protect us from that stress, but that causes another stress, so… yeah, we are complicated.
The Green Sahara
The Sahara wasn’t a desert but a lavish, prosperous place. In places like that, innovations grow. By innovation, Dunbar meant religious beliefs.
We had the chance to look at the map — the same one above this subtitle — and Holy Moley!
All the doctrinal religions that involve gods, moral codes, dedicated religious spaces, and professional priesthoods come from the “same place,” more precisely from the northern Subtropical Zone.
Why?
Because it was the best place to live in the Neolithic era, it was like the Silicon Valley for developers ten years ago.
The population was growing, and they needed to stay put. They probably invented a lot of rules to live by and came up with the afterlife idea for free labor or the reason why not kill each other. Whatever the reason, it worked well.
It is still very useful nowadays.
Unanswered Question
There was only one question that has been left open:
Did the Neanderthals die out because they weren’t religious?
My guess would be no, but I’m not at the top of this topic. Someone help find the answer, please!
Private Circle
The best part? After the talk, we had the chance to ask Dunbar questions. It was a cozy small circle of six or seven people.
There were many great questions, and Dunbar is an excellent storyteller.
I asked him about climate change and a potential new religion. Which I believe is on the way. Something like this:
Innovation grows in rich places. In the Neolithic era, it was the northern Subtropical Zone. In my humble opinion, in the past few hundred years, it is the western region. Do you think that science has the potential to become a new religion?
The answer was yes and no.
Yes, science has the potential because some people believe only in research, and no, because no one is able to dive deep into every field of science.
Thank you for your time!
The Witty Witch