RELIGION, like other behaviours, is suspected by many scientists to be a product of evolution. In this enjoyable book, Nicholas Wade builds a case for religion’s evolution beginning at least 50,000 years ago, from its roots in the basic moral instincts of non-human primates. He suggests it owes its emergence to our evolving capacities for music and dance.
Wade argues that in early human societies religion was the best solution to lawlessness within a group and warfare from without, motivating individuals to put society’s needs before their own. It’s a compelling idea, but it requires natural selection to…
