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Tuesday, June 16th, 2015

Did Affluence Spur the Rise of Modern Religions?

Author:     Bret Stetka
Source:     Scientific American
Publication Date:     Apr 9, 2015
Link: Did Affluence Spur the Rise of Modern Religions?
Stephan:   Here is some very thought provoking commentary on the origins of religion. I think it is only part of the story, for instance it completely ignores the nonlocal consciousness experiences we have traditionally called spiritual that are so transformative. But the association of religion and affluence is certainly an area for further research.

The Beginnings of Moral Religion

These five major movements mark the beginning of humanity’s turn toward religions that emphasize personal morality and asceticism, according to a new study.

religion

About 2,500 years ago something changed the way humans think. Within the span of two centuries, in three separate regions of Eurasia, spiritual movements emerged that would give rise to the world’s major moral religions, those preaching some combination of compassion, humility and asceticism. Scholars often attribute the rise of these moral religions—Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity included—to population growth, seeing morality as a necessary social stabilizer in increasingly large and volatile human communities. Yet findings from a recent study published in Current Biology point to a different factor: rising affluence.

The authors investigated variables relating to political complexity and living standards. Affluence emerged as a major force in the rise of moral religion, in particular, access to energy. Across cultures moral religions abruptly emerged when members of a population could reliably source 20,000 calories of energy a day, including food (for humans and livestock), fuel and raw materials.“This number appears to correspond with a certain peace […]

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1 Comment

  1. john anthony west on Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 5:29 am

    Stephan, thanks for calling my attention to this.

    These schmucks are Secular New Age Creationists: they think the basic foundation stones for the modern world (the only world that counts in their depraved philosophy) started when people as ignorant as themselves became rich (ca 2000 years ago).

    Where was ancient Egypt all this time? Devoid of Religion? Poor?

    I keep a list (constantly updated) of the “Ten Stupidest Statements Ever Uttered by a Human Being” (It has thousands of Honorable Mentions attached. You can just imagine how difficult it is to decide which merit inclusion in that exclusive Top Ten!) This article make me think an accompanying “10 Stupidest Articles Ever Written by a Human Being” might be a good idea, too.

    John Anthony West