Hugo-nominated author Catherynne Valente, via Facebook, pointed out this Psychology Today article on religion as an adaptive reproductive strategy. In short, the studies discussed in the article suggest that:
(1) conservative values related to sex (but not to other moral issues) lead to traditional religious observance rather than the reverse
(2) people profess more religious piety when they see a lot of attractive members of the same sex.
The deduced adaptive mating strategy is that when people feel they have a lot of very attractive competition out there, a conservative approach (locking down into monogamy) becomes more practical than playing the field because in the field, you will be out-competed by all those beautiful people. They suggest that this may provide a partial explanation as to why traditional religion persists: it's an evolutionarily beneficial adaptation not because (or not only because) it enhances communal survival or any such lofty ideal, but because it is essentially selfish. It enhances individual reproductive chances. For women, it gets each a man who will provide for her and her children without being distracted by other obligations. For men, it gets each one a woman who will bear his children exclusively. Express religious belief and get laid have mating success! It's all about sex!
I foresee this not being a popular interpretation among the religiously conservative.
Recent Comments