Atheism and the Apotheosis of Agency

Authors

  • BENSON SALER Brandeis University, U.S.A.
  • CHARLES A. ZIEGLER Brandeis University, U.S.A.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.4628

Abstract

This paper suggests that biological factors ought to be considered in attempting to explain distributions of theism and atheism across populations. In advancing our argument, we consider two recent efforts to explain atheism. The first, entered by William S. Bainbridge, is in the tradition of sociological theorizing. The second, proffered by Justin L. Barrett, is an example of theorizing within the framework of the recently developed cognitive science of religion. While these two approaches are different in important respects, they both opt for environmental explanations of atheism. We give reasons for regarding purely environmental explanations as unsatisfactory both with regard to atheism and with regard to some (but not all) expressions of religiosity. We offer, moreover, a suggested modification of Barrett's approach that introduces a hypothesized heritable biological argument so that it accounts for more of what we know about atheism.

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Published

2006-09-01

How to Cite

SALER, B., & ZIEGLER, C. A. (2006). Atheism and the Apotheosis of Agency. Temenos - Nordic Journal for the Study of Religion, 42(2). https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.4628

Issue

Vol. 42 No. 2 (2006)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2006 Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion

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