The Evolutionary Model of Religion
Under the influence of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, most social scientists and anthropologists have concluded that religion began with early man's pantheistic deification of the forces of nature. According to them, early man was amazed by the more cataclysmic and devastating forces of nature, like lightning, thunder, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc. which they supposedly conceived of as supernatural beings. Consequently, they sought ways and means of appeasing them, much in the same way they sought the aid of their leaders or more powerful tribes. In this way, early rites of worship, like prayer and sacrifice, were supposed to have developed. The North American Indians, who believe in spirits of the river, forests etc. are used as examples of this early stage in the evolution of religion known as animism. At this stage, they claim, every individual had a personal set of gods. The polytheistic situation among the Hindus of India, where every family has its own personal god, is cited as an example of this stage. Economic necessity and the struggle for survival eventually caused family links to expand, and thus tribes evolved. Tribal gods, in turn, gradually replaced the old family gods and with each successive generation, tribes The Evolutionary Model of Religion
Under the influence of Darwin's Theory of Evolution, most social scientists and anthropologists have concluded that religion began with early man's pantheistic deification of the forces of nature. According to them, early man was amazed by the more cataclysmic and devastating forces of nature, like lightning, thunder, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc. which they supposedly conceived of as supernatural beings. Consequently, they sought ways and means of appeasing them, much in the same way they sought the aid of their leaders or more powerful tribes. In this way, early rites of worship, like prayer and sacrifice, were supposed to have developed. The North American Indians, who believe in spirits of the river, forests etc. are used as examples of this early stage in the evolution of religion known as animism. At this stage, they claim, every individual had a personal set of gods. The polytheistic situation among the Hindus of India, where every family has its own personal god, is cited as an example of this stage. Economic necessity and the struggle for survival eventually caused family links to expand, and thus tribes evolved. Tribal gods, in turn, gradually replaced the old family gods and with each successive generation, tribes became larger and larger and the number of idols got fewer and fewer. Eventually ditheism emerged in which all of the super-natural powers were confined to two main gods, a god of good and a god of evil. According to evolutionists, an example of this stage can be seen in the religion of Zoroastrians of Persia.
Prior to the appearance of the Persian 'reformer', Zarathustra (Greek: Zoroaster), Persians were thought to have believed in natural spirits, clan gods and family gods. According to the evidence gathered and interpreted by anthropologists, during Zoroaster's time tribal gods were reduced to two, Ahura Mazda who, according to them, created all good in the world, and Angra Manyu who created all evil. 1
When tribes gave way to nations, tribal gods in turn gave way to the national God and monotheism was supposedly born. The God of Israel, a portrayed in the Old Testament is a national entity, fighting on their behalf against their foes. The Israelites in turn are referred to as His chosen children. The Egyptian ruler, Akhenaten of the fourteenth century B.C., also known as Amenhotep IV [4th], is also cited as proof of the evolutionist concept of religion. At a time when the prevailing belief in Egypt was polytheism, he introduced the monotheistic worship of one God called Ra, which symbolized the disc of the sun. 2
Thus, according to social scientists and anthropologists, religion has no divine origin. It is merely a by product of the evolution of early man's superstitions’ based on his lack of scientific knowledge. They believe that science will eventually be able to unlock all of the secrets of nature, at which time, it assumes religion will disappear.
--------
1] David Hume (1711-76) followed Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) in proposing this theory in the Natural History of Religion (1757) (Dictionary of Religions, p.258).
2] Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion, pp. 16. 193. __________________
Bookmarks