The cognitive science of religion is a new discipline that looks at the roots of religious belief in the cognitive architecture of the human mind. The Roots of Religion deals with the philosophical and theological implications of the cognitive science of religion which grounds religious belief in human cognitive structures: religious belief is 'natural', in a way that even scientific thought is not. Does this new discipline support religious belief, undermine it, or is it, despite many claims, perhaps eventually neutral? This subject is of immense importance, particularly given the rise of the 'new atheism'. Philosophers and theologians from North America, UK and Australia, explore the alleged conflict between truth claims and examine the roots of religion in human nature. Is it less 'natural' to be an atheist than to believe in God, or gods? On the other hand, if we can explain theism psychologically, have we explained it away. Can it still claim any truth? This book debates these and related issues.

About the Author

Roger Trigg is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Warwick, and Senior Research Fellow at the Ian Ramsey Centre, University of Oxford. He was the Founding President of the British Society of the Philosophy of Religion, and from 2008-10 was President of the European Society for Philosophy of Religion. The author of many books on the philosophy of religion and the philosophy of science, his most recent have been Equality, Freedom and Religion (2012) and Religious Diversity: Philosophical and Political Dimensions (2014).

Justin L. Barrett is the Thrive Professor of Developmental Science at Fuller Seminary's Graduate School of Psychology, where he directs the Thrive Center for Human Development. He is also a research associate of Oxford University's School of Anthropology & Museum Ethnography. He is author of scores of academic articles and book chapters concerning cognitive science of religion and three books: Why Would Anyone Believe in God? (2004); Cognitive Science, Religion, & Theology (2011); and Born Believers: The Science of Children's Religious Beliefs (2012).

Reviews

'These are accomplished, provocative essays ... Recommended.'

- Choice

'An outstanding set of authoritative essays, essential reading for all who are interested in the nature of religion.'

- Keith Ward, Christ Church, Oxford, UK

"The strength of this book is in offering something of a preview of how research coming out of CSR might be received by scholars working in various areas of religious studies. It is valid to assume that some scholars will, based on their individual interests, fear or hope for a "conclusive case against a religious world-view." The Roots of Religion offers the revelation that these individual hopes or fears add up to collective concern over the implications of integrating cognitive (and evolutionary) science into religious studies. Barrett and Trigg offer an exploration then not of the cognitive science of religion, but the reception of it. Considering Teehan's observation that "contemporary cognitive science, grounded in an evolutionary perspective, 'shakes the foundations' of religious belief in a more profound way than evolutionary theory has done so far" (167) The Roots of Religion is particularly valuable for scholars concerned with what will someday be considered the early reception history of the cognitive science of religion."

- Edward N. Surman, Claremont Graduate University

Book Information
ISBN 9781138547070
Author Roger Trigg
Format Paperback
Page Count 242
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 358g