After more than a decade of news, research updates, and insights on the biological and cultural functions of religion, we are sad to say goodbye to the Science on Religion blog. At least in its current form. Dozens of scholars of religion have contributed engaging pieces over the years. It takes a lot of time to consistently produce the high-quality content we strive for at SoR. It’s become clear it’s time to take a step back from how we’ve typically... Read more
At the podcast "How God Works," I discuss the worldwide phenomenon of painful adolescent rites of passage with psychologist David DeSteno. Read more
War has returned to Europe after a long, dreamy sabbatical. Russia’s troops and tanks are advancing toward Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine and the Ur-heimat of Slavic Christendom. Apartment buildings are burning; middle-class inhabitants are refugees, homeless, or — in too many cases — dead; and newspaper headlines last Thursday simply said “War in Europe” as if it were 1939. All of this supports that sinking feeling I got in early January that 2022 wasn’t going to herald any return... Read more
A while back, I left formal academia. In the post where I announced that decision, I promised that I’d start writing here more frequently again, since I’d be free from the crushing pressure to self-censor that I’d been feeling as a professional academic. Obviously, that hasn’t happened. For a variety of reasons, the pressure to self-censor is still on. More importantly, I’ve taken a step back from blogging and writing in order to get my head on straight in a... Read more
I’m teaching a course on the evolution of music through Scholarium in January and February. Or, more accurately, I’m teaching about the origins of human rhythm — our unique ability to “keep together in time.” Have you ever seen a group of dogs pounding their paws in rhythm on the pavement, jamming out together? No, because they lack the kind of brain you need to be able move your body in time to an audio rhythm. Why would humans have these... Read more
University of Chicago geophysicist Dorian Abbot was disinvited from giving a lecture on exoplanets at MIT because of his outspoken opinions about how universities should prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and hiring — opinions that 74% of Americans and a majority of all races agree with. The future of civil society and higher education in the United States is in peril. Read more
The "scientific image" of humans offered by evolutionary biology is cold, impersonal, alienating…and objective. But reality is more than objectivity. Read more
Pope Francis recently restricted the Catholic Tridentine Latin mass. The resulting firestorm of controversy may help illuminate why so many people don’t believe what their churches teach. Read more
Humans everywhere play music and dance. But other animals don't — so where did these unique abilities come from? New research provides some suggestions. Read more
Are hunter-gatherer societies really the original egalitarian society? One anthropologist argues against the myth of the leaderless noble savage. Read more
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