Wed, 31 Dec 2008

Religion may have evolved because of its ability to help people exercise self-control

I'll bet that the notion of religions "evolving" has got some folks (like, oh, say the Christian creationists) quite in an uproar. Be that as it may be, a study that shows people behaving differently and with better motivation when they believe themselves to be in accordance with the divine is hardly news: that's kind of the whole point of religion, eh?

But what really struck me about this is the headline, with it's the underlying assumption that a priori there are no gods or eternal truths, and that the fabric of religion itself evolved out of a purely human consciousness. I don't see this in the article at all, but then again, I've just read the synopsis presented here, not the entire study. I'd be surprised if it was in there, however, as it wouldn't have hurt the authors conclusions to simply ignore the "existence of god" question. Methinks the headline was added to gin up some controversy ... and the consequent media attention.

The one assumption that is glaringly obvious from the synopsis is the emphasis on monotheistic religions: "God is watching", eternal punishment and reward, etc. Those are concepts that are almost completely alien to the worlds polytheistic (and pantheistic) faiths - but then, perhaps I expect too much, imagining that a researcher in the US would account for the Hindus, Taoists and Buddhists of the world, not to mention us Heathens.

It's an interesting read, nonetheless, and not quite a Study in Stupidity - but it does come close.

A study by a University of Miami psychologist reveals that religion facilitates the exercise of self-control and attainment of long-term goals.In his study, Michael McCullough, a psychology professor at the University of Miami, finds a strong correlation between religion and self-control, or self-regulation. He explains that religious people may have at their disposal a set of unique resources that makes them better suited to adhering to long term goals.

(link) [EurekAlert!]

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