Overview
This book argues that religion has emerged over evolutionary time as a strategy for managing the transmission, contraction, and eradication of infectious disease. From purity and pollution codes to blood sacrifices and irrational beliefs, the book shows how religion supports not only the physiological immune system, but the behavioral and psychological immune systems as well. The book also addresses those moments when it appears that religion becomes maladaptive, that is, when religion causes “autoimmune problems,” such as celibacy and anti-vaccination. Engaging material ranging from evolutionary and social psychology to human behavioral ecology, biological anthropology, Darwinian medicine, and religious studies, the book proposes that in order to understand the human animal’s enduring fascination with religion, one must take into account the enduring need to manage infectious disease.
Full Product Details
Author: Thomas B. Ellis (Appalachian State University, USA) ,
Donald Wiebe (University of Toronto Canada) ,
Luther H Martin (University of Vermont USA) ,
Radek Kundt (Masaryk University the Czech Republic)
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Dimensions:
Width: 15.60cm
, Height: 2.50cm
, Length: 23.40cm
Weight: 0.454kg
ISBN: 9781526629241
ISBN 10: 1526629240
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 30 November 2023
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
An intelligent and wholly 21st-century perspective on religion. Thomas B. Ellis masterfully explains how the behavioral immune system is causally responsible for many of the curiosities surrounding human religiosity. A forward-pointing contribution to the scientific study of religion. * Robert C. Fuller, Emeritus Professor, Bradley University, USA *
An intelligent and wholly 21st-century perspective on religion. Thomas B. Ellis masterfully explains how the behavioral immune system is causally responsible for many of the curiosities surrounding human religiosity. A forward-pointing contribution to the scientific study of religion. * Robert C. Fuller, Emeritus Professor, Bradley University, USA * [A] fascinating study of religious faith and its role in human survival … Worthwhile reading for anyone interested in the multifaceted ways in which science can be used to investigate religion. * Theology *
An intelligent and wholly 21st-century perspective on religion. Thomas B. Ellis masterfully explains how the behavioral immune system is causally responsible for many of the curiosities surrounding human religiosity. A forward-pointing contribution to the scientific study of religion. --Robert C. Fuller, Emeritus Professor, Bradley University, USA
Author Information
Thomas B. Ellis is Professor of Religion at Appalachian State University, USA.
