Religion Explained? The Cognitive Science of Religion after Twenty-Five Years

This edited volume examines the cognitive science of religion (CSR) after twenty-five years of development, assessing its achievements, limitations, and future prospects. Slone brings together leading scholars to evaluate CSR's explanatory power regarding religious belief and behavior, particularly its naturalistic accounts of why humans form and maintain religious concepts.

The collection addresses CSR's central claim that religious beliefs arise from ordinary cognitive mechanisms rather than sui generis religious experiences or divine revelation. Contributors analyze how evolutionary psychology, cognitive anthropology, and neuroscience converge to explain religion as a natural byproduct of human cognition. Key topics include the hyperactive agency detection device (HADD), theory of mind, memory constraints on religious concepts, and ritual behavior. The volume critically examines whether CSR successfully explains religion away or merely describes cognitive preconditions for religious belief.

Several chapters engage the philosophical implications of CSR for theism. If religious beliefs result from cognitive biases and evolutionary pressures, does this undermine their truth claims? Contributors debate whether naturalistic explanations of religious cognition constitute defeaters for religious belief or remain neutral regarding truth questions. The debunking argument receives particular scrutiny: even if CSR explains why humans believe in gods, this may not determine whether gods exist.

The work situates CSR within broader conversations between science and religion. Some contributors argue CSR supports atheistic conclusions by showing religion emerges from error-prone cognitive systems. Others maintain that identifying natural mechanisms for religious belief formation proves compatible with theism, since God could work through natural processes. The volume includes responses to critics who charge CSR with reductionism or category mistakes in analyzing religion scientifically.

Methodologically, the collection evaluates CSR's empirical research programs, including cross-cultural studies, developmental psychology experiments, and neuroimaging of religious experiences. Contributors assess whether CSR has matured beyond programmatic statements to generate robust, testable theories. The volume particularly examines tensions between CSR's universalist assumptions about human cognition and anthropological evidence of religious diversity.

This work contributes significantly to contemporary debates about naturalism and theism by providing a comprehensive assessment of CSR's challenge to religious belief. Rather than simply advocating for CSR, the volume presents diverse perspectives on whether cognitive explanations of religion carry metaphysical implications. The collection demonstrates how empirical research on religious cognition intersects with perennial philosophical questions about the rationality and truth of religious belief.