The study of religion by the humanities and social sciences has become receptive for an evolutionary perspective. Some proposals model the evolution of religion in Darwinian terms, or construct a synergy between biological and non-Darwinian processes. The results, however, have not yet become truly interdisciplinary. The biological theory of evolution in form of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) is only sparsely represented in theories published so far by scholars of religion. Therefore this book reverses the line of view and asks how their results assort with evolutionary biology: How can the subject area "religion" integrated into behavioral biology? How is theory building affected by the asymmetry between the scarce empirical knowledge of prehistoric religion, and the body of knowledge about extant and historic religions? How does hominin evolution in general relate to the evolution of religion? Are there evolutionary pre-adaptations? Subsequent versions of evolutionary biology from the original Darwinism to EES are used in interdisciplinary constructs. Can they be integrated into a comprehensive theory? The biological concept most often used is co-evolution, in form of a gene-culture co-evolution. However, the term denotes a process different from biological co-evolution. Important EES concepts do not appear in present models of religious evolution: e.g. neutral evolution, evolutionary drift, evolutionary constraints etc. How to include them into an interdisciplinary approach? Does the cognitive science of religion (CSR) harmonize with behavioral biology and the brain sciences? Religion as part of human culture is supported by a complex, multi-level behavioral system. How can it be modeled scientifically? The book addresses graduate students and researchers concerned about the scientific study of religion, and biologist interested in interdisciplinary theory building in the field.

The study of religion by the humanities and social sciences has become receptive for an evolutionary perspective. Some proposals model the evolution of religion in Darwinian terms, or construct a synergy between biological and non-Darwinian processes. The results, however, have not yet become truly interdisciplinary. The biological theory of evolution in form of the Extended Evolutionary Synthesis (EES) is only sparsely represented in theories published so far by scholars of religion. Therefore this book reverses the line of view and asks how their results assort with evolutionary biology: How can the subject area "religion" integrated into behavioral biology? How is theory building affected by the asymmetry between the scarce empirical knowledge of prehistoric religion, and the body of knowledge about extant and historic religions? How does hominin evolution in general relate to the evolution of religion? Are there evolutionary pre-adaptations? Subsequent versions of evolutionary biology from the original Darwinism to EES are used in interdisciplinary constructs. Can they be integrated into a comprehensive theory? The biological concept most often used is co-evolution, in form of a gene-culture co-evolution. However, the term denotes a process different from biological co-evolution. Important EES concepts do not appear in present models of religious evolution: e.g. neutral evolution, evolutionary drift, evolutionary constraints etc. How to include them into an interdisciplinary approach? Does the cognitive science of religion (CSR) harmonize with behavioral biology and the brain sciences? Religion as part of human culture is supported by a complex, multi-level behavioral system. How can it be modeled scientifically? The book addresses graduate students and researchers concerned about the scientific study of religion, and biologist interested in interdisciplinary theory building in the field.

Religion gehoert zum Menschen und seiner Geschichte. Wenn "Homo sapiens" durch Evolution aus der Tierwelt entstand, gilt das auch fur seine Kultur und Religion. Wie stellen sich Kultur- und Naturwissenschaftler heute den Gang dieser Evolution vor? Die Antworten sind strittig, sie reichen von einfachen "darwinistischen" Erklarungen bis zu mehrdimensionalen Modellen. Und was folgt aus der evolutionaren Entstehung der Religion fur die christliche Theologie, was folgt fur den glaubenden Menschen? Die Beitrage dieses Buchs geben Antworten und fuhren zu neuen Fragen.

Ist der Mensch ein Primat unter Primaten? Oder ist er doch trotz seiner Entstehung aus dem Tierreich wesenhaft vom Tier verschieden? Aus der Perspektive von Naturwissenschaft, Philosophie und Theologie untersucht dieser Band die Frage, wie es mit der evolutionaren Herkunft des Menschen steht, und wie mit seinem Verhaltnis zu seinen nachsten Verwandten, den grossen Affen. Was ist von der Tierrechtsbewegung zu halten, wie sieht das Alte Testament die Beziehung von Mensch und Tier, wie sehen die theologischen Schlusse dazu aus? Der Inhalt beruht auf den Vortragen der Jahrestagung 2016 der Karl-Heim-Gesellschaft und wurde durch weitere Beitrage erganzt.