widely endorsed version of such evolution is kin-selection (or inclusivefitness;
see 2.2.7). Further, it has to be noted that kinship cannot be reliably recognized
and therefore it makes sense to extend altruism to a larger number of
people. In fact, altruistic behavior toward kin is often embraced by religious
morality, and group membership is often expressed in terms offictive kinship.
Empathy has been thought of as an indispensible component of truly altruistic
behavior in humans, a long-standing consensus that has been challenged in
recent scholarship.
In conclusion, let us note that there are several ways to connect elements
of religion to adaptive traits (Söling, 2002). The connection between some
religious traits and sexual selection, if the relevant theories can be proven,
could provide cases of religion being a direct genetic adaptation. More
often, however, religious traits are better interpreted as by-products of
natural selection, which means that some religious cognition or behavior
is based on evolved traits, rather being adaptive by itself. For example,
HADD is an evolved trait, whereas intuitions about gods and spirits based
on HADD could be thought of as neutral by-products of this trait. Finally,
exaptationsgive a new adaptive function to a previously evolved trait. For
example, the idea of a morally interested god can be interpreted as an
adaptive trait (such as by helping to avoid risky behavior or supporting
group cohesion), which is based on moral intuitions that evolved for
interacting with fellow humans.
2.3 EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE IN RELIGIONThe connection between epigenetic inheritance and religion is an as yet
unexplored area, which might reveal interesting aspects of religious traditions
in future. For example, experiments confirmed that the dietary preferences of
a baby are influenced by the mother’s diet during pregnancy and breast-
feeding (Mennella et al., 2001) As the authors suggested, such influences
may underlie differences in ethnic cuisines. This research line can highlight
an interesting bio-cultural dimension of religious dietary laws. If the actual
diet of populations reflects the prescriptions of their religious laws, children
will be born with a biologically (epigenetically) programmed preference for
certain food and intuitively reject (be disgusted by) others. Not only dietary
preferences but also the utilization of nutrients, such as sugar, can be regulated
by epigenetic inheritance (Bateson et al., 2004). Babies are born with various
values“preset,”so to speak, by such parental influences, in ways that make
them prepared for their future environments. Much of that information effects
more than one generation, which sometimes results in maladaptation
under rapidly changing conditions, such as the sudden abundance of nutrients
40 Cognitive Science and the New Testament