Knowledge Tree
religion
Facts (29)
Sources
Psychedelics, Sociality, and Human Evolution frontiersin.org 15 facts
claimThe interpersonal and prosocial effects of psilocybin likely mediated the expansion of social bonding mechanisms, including laughter, singing, dancing, storytelling, and religion.
claimExtended grooming behaviors that stimulate endogenous opioid mechanisms to enhance social bonding include, in sequential order: laughter (chorusing), singing (without words), dancing, storytelling, and religion.
perspectivePsychedelic use may have declined in modern human societies because safer, more effective, or more convenient methods to access altered states of consciousness and support social bonding—such as music and religion—have become integral parts of the human niche.
referenceNorenzayan et al. (2016) published 'The cultural evolution of prosocial religions' in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, exploring the development of religion.
claimThe niche-construction dynamic, involving a combination of cultural and biological selection, explains why psychedelic use is not ubiquitous while institutionalized altered states of consciousness, music, and religion are cross-cultural universals.
referenceMichael J. Winkelman authored the article 'An ethnological analogy and biogenetic model for interpretation of religion and ritual in the past', published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory in 2021.
claimEthnographic and experimental evidence suggests that religions forge solidarity and cooperation through various mechanisms and at different levels of social complexity, as supported by Katz (1984), Boehm (1993), Winkelman (2013b, 2021b), Norenzayan et al. (2016), and Skoggard et al. (2020).
claimElectronic dance music culture and religion are linked.
claimReligion comprises symbolically and emotionally laden beliefs and practices regarding superhuman powers, and the institutions that maintain and transmit such beliefs and practices, according to Bulbulia et al. (2013).
claimThe interpersonal and prosocial effects of psilocybin may have mediated the expansion of social bonding mechanisms such as laughter, music, storytelling, and religion, thereby favoring selection for prosociality in the human lineage.
referenceE. Bourguignon authored 'Religion, Altered States of Consciousness, and Social Change', published by Ohio State University Press in 1973.
claimEarly religious forms developed within the context of intense and immersive experiences involving music, ritual, and dance, likely combined with the use of psychedelics and other mind-altering techniques.
claimThe interpersonal and prosocial effects of psychedelics may have mediated the expansion of social bonding mechanisms such as laughter, singing, dancing, storytelling, and religion, which accelerated the spread of key biological components of social cognition and religiosity in the human lineage.
referencePeoples, Duda, and Marlowe (2016) published 'Hunter-gatherers and the origins of religion' in Human Nature, examining the evolutionary origins of religious practices.
referenceRicherson and Christiansen (2013) edited 'Cultural Evolution: Society, Technology, Language, and Religion', a collection of works examining the mechanisms of cultural evolution.
The cross-cultural study of mind and behaviour: a word of caution link.springer.com Apr 8, 2022 2 facts
claimThe scientific study of religion may find a solution to the question of why some cultures are more religious than others by examining different cultural models of the mind.
referenceThe field of cultural evolutionary studies utilizes mathematical models, large empirical projects, and unifying explanatory frameworks to account for stability, diversity, and change in language, social complexity, religion, and technology.
The Role of Language in Shaping Social Identity and Cultural ... aithor.com Apr 24, 2025 2 facts
claimMore cultural knowledge is tied to language than to any other factor, including religion, social organization, economic organization, kin terminology, dress, values, norms, and beliefs.
claimLanguage serves as an aspect of identity formation and expression that individuals can change, unlike immutable identities such as race, religion, or gender.
The Mechanisms of Psychedelic Visionary Experiences - Frontiers frontiersin.org Sep 27, 2017 2 facts
referenceJames McClenon's 1997 article, 'Shamanic healing, human evolution, and the origin of religion', discusses the role of shamanic healing in human evolution and the origins of religious belief.
referenceJames McClenon's 2002 book, 'Wondrous Healing: Shamanism, Human Evolution and the Origin of Religion', examines the connection between shamanic healing practices, human evolution, and the development of religion.
Evolutionary Psychology | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu 1 fact
claimStephen Jay Gould (1997, 2000) argues that it is impossible to obtain key information required to validate adaptive tales about the Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA), such as kinship relations, social structures, group sizes, gender-specific activities, and the roles of religion, symbolizing, and storytelling, because these aspects cannot be traced in fossils.
A Scoping Review of Indicators for Sustainable Healthy Diets frontiersin.org Jan 12, 2022 1 fact
claimFood choices and behaviors are deeply connected to social and economic expressions of identity, gender, religion, preferences, and cultural meaning, as stated by Monterrosa et al. (2020).
Ethnobotanical study of wild edible plants in Goba District Southwest ... nature.com Jul 29, 2025 1 fact
claimThe Goba District study found no significant differences in wild edible plant knowledge based on marital status, ethnicity, religion, or educational attainment.
Altered State of Consciousness | Springer Nature Link link.springer.com Sep 17, 2025 1 fact
referenceT. B. Roberts edited the book 'Psychoactive sacramentals: Essays on entheogens and religion', published by the Council on Spiritual Practices in 2001.
Non-physicalist Theories of Consciousness cambridge.org Dec 20, 2023 1 fact
claimPanpsychism is perceived as more natural in societies influenced by Eastern philosophy and religion compared to Western societies.
Dietary diversity insufficiently explains differences in prevalence of ... journals.plos.org 1 fact
claimDifferences in culture, lifestyle, and religion influence dietary intake and may result in malnutrition and anaemia in Nigeria, though religion specifically did not have an effect on the risk of anaemia in this study.
Published Studies — Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and ... hopkinspsychedelic.org 1 fact
referenceThe article 'Consciousness, Religion, and Gurus: Pitfalls of Psychedelic Medicine' by M. W. Johnson was published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Science in 2021.
Psychedelics and Consciousness: Distinctions, Demarcations, and ... ouci.dntb.gov.ua 1 fact
claimJohnson identified potential pitfalls of psychedelic medicine in the context of consciousness, religion, and gurus.