To: letters@nytimes.com
Re: The animal roots religion
Date: Wednesday, 2 February 05

 

Dear Nicholous (Mr Kristof),

I liked your op-ed in today's NYT ("God and Evolution"). Now, if you can spare me a minute,  . . .

Firstly, it is important to bear in mind that everyone has their own (often complicated and contradictory) ideas about what the words "God" and "religion" mean, so that most of the time we talk at cross purposes.

It annoys me the way Abrahamic religions have kidnapped "God", and declared everyone else to be godless (okay, nowadays, not all adherents). But it strikes me that some of the most prominent atheists and agnostics (e.g. Einstein, Thomas Huxley, Bertrand Russell) were more deeply "religious" and "spiritual" than most; they just rejected the Abrahamic (concept of) God.

It is very interesting to look at religion and religious beliefs from a scientific perspective, asking what purpose they serve the human animal?

Man is Earth’s “Greatest Ape ”. An animal - not a fallen angel - with heightened awareness (symbolically and beautifully described in the first part of the biblical story of Adam and Eve), and the potential (sadly neglected) to transcend his primitive behavioural programming.

Heightened awareness brings with it fears and responsibilities that are unknown to other animals. It is these that "religion" seeks to address, but in so doing becomes itself an aspect and object of our animal nature and behaviour. Religion immediately became a part of the "socio-economic environment " in which , in place of the natural environment, humans now struggle for survival and advantage.

Awareness has greatly increased our animal fears of the unknown, particularly of death. Thus, belief in a "life after death", far from being an expression of "spirituality" (higher, human nature) is a primitive response to an animal fear. It requires real faith and spiritual strength to face up to and accept death without the crutch of such a naive belief (in Islam they even throw in 70 virgins, or whatever the number is, for martyrs).

To be continued . . . 

www.spaceship-earth.org