The present work is the first study to systematically compare the minds of gods by examining
some of the intuitive processes that guide how people reason about them. By examining the …

Current evolutionary and cognitive theories of religion posit that supernatural agent
concepts emerge from cognitive systems such as theory of mind and social cognition. Some …

As appeals to what gods know and care about often motivate and rationalize human
behavior, understanding shared models of gods' minds is crucial for understanding religion's …

The specific concerns attributed to supernatural agents vary considerably across
populations. Evidence from evolutionary psychology suggests that commitment to …

In this paper, we consider the idea that religion is a transsomatic adaptation. At the genic
level, the religious system constitutes an extended phenotype that has been fashioned by …

In this chapter we examine variation in the contents of supernatural minds across cultures
and the social correlates of this variation. We first provide a sketch of how humans are …

The cognitive science of religion raises important new questions about the nature of
religious concepts and processing, but its experimental work heavily relies on Western …

Two studies examined the degree to which participants' were aware of their morality-based
motivations when determining their political affiliations. Participants from the US indicated …

Highlights•We present a new synthetic theory for how religion evolved.•The theory is based
on maximization of inclusive fitness.•The theory is compatible with evidence from many …

Today, when many diseases seem to be on the retreat, thanks to better education, hygiene,
improved living standards and medical treatments, cancer still remains a serious problem …