Rating: 
Summary: The Academy will love it! ... As for the rest of us? ...
Review: ... The Academy will love this book! It reads like a doctoral dissertation Ph.D. thesis - well organized, lucidly presented, academically sound ... and BORING AS [HECK}!!! ... I excitedly bought this book with the hope that it would explain to me the mysteries of the human mind in relation to religion. Instead, I got a 333 page book on one man's ideas about WHY he thinks humans BELIEVE in what they do, and HOW this occurs in society. ... Sounds good so far. The problem is that it just does not go FAR enough, DEEP enough, or WIDE enough into the topic of beliefs. Also, it is presented in a way that is very hard to understand for two reasons: 1. As organized as it is, the reader does NOT know ahead of time WHERE it is all leading. 2. The way this author writes is VERY confusing. ... Listen, I've read over 1000 books in my life - most of them before I turned 30 - and, outside of a few Math Textbooks in math class in college, this has got to be one of the HARDEST books to read I have ever read in my life! No doubt about that in my mind. ... I give this book 3 Stars because the author, indeed, DOES make MANY excellent points along the way. It's just too bad you have to sift through so much sand before you find those diamonds!
... I am glad I read this book. I learned a lot. Still, I think it misses its mark. I think the author needs to read some Terence McKenna and have his mind blown. The insides of this book are just like the cover: dark, spooky, black & white, and always talking about science or witchcraft. ... This book needs to be revised, and it needs to add some COLOR and JOY and LIFE to its pages. - The Aeolian Kid
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating, but not without flaws.
Review: After greatly enjoying Lakoff and Nunez' "Where Mathematics Comes From: How the Embodied Mind Brings Mathematics into Being" and reading the eminent Todd Stark's enthusiastic review, I decided to find out how Boyer had used cognitive and evolutionary psychology to "explain" mathematics' diametrical opposite.This book contains fascinating chapters dealing with inference systems and analyzing the common themes shared by religions all over the world, in societies that very from "primitive" to "advanced". Especially his lucid discussion of the likelihood that inference systems can generate religious concepts in a very direct way was at the same level of Lakoff and Nunez' explanation of the concept of infinity in mathematics. As such, mathematics and religion, both leitmotivs in the brain of the great Cantor, no longer seemed such strange bedfellows. However, after the first four chapters the highly focused discourse gets diluted and many pages are spent "without explaining anything". One of the clearest instances where Boyer takes a wrong turn is in his rigid adherence to Darwinian natural selection, when it comes to explaining social traits that help the group, but that are not promoted by natural selection of the individual. A mere adaptation of the Gouldian dogma "natural selection takes place at the species level" would have been an adequate solution to Boyer's attempt to fit a round peg into a square hole. Likewise, Boyer spends a lot of time on religious rituals, the ritual treatments of the deceased body, and the link between death and religion. These subjects are discussed extensively, without adding too much of an explanation to religion beyond the one given in the earlier chapters. Death and religion belong in the category of emotionally charged unknown. Both court proceedings and football games start with extensive rituals that provide structure and context that help focus the attention. I was especially surprised to see that Boyer did not resort to an explanation based on inference systems when it came to discussing the concept of death as transition, rather than ending. After an extended analysis of "natural" religions, Boyer extrapolates toward the organized ones using a model of franchising guilds and establishment of religious brands, that many worshippers may abhor, but that hit the nail on the head. Next, he revisits group membership in a way that adds little to his earlier exploration of inference system. While his discussion of fundamentalism is a valid exploration of religion as political tool, it does not explain anything that is fundamental to religion. In the finale many of the strands are pulled together and themes get regurgitated, but to me Boyer falls short of reaching his goal of "explaining religion". Even to an agnostic person like myself this book contains an enormous black hole. This is the benefit people get from spirituality and the crucial importance of the "leap of faith" for this process. While listening to a work like Bach's Saint Matthew Passion is very effective in transporting me to a contemplative mode, many "believers' claim that faith in the content matter of this oratorio allows an extra dimension in this process. I cannot help but think, that this is a crucial key in the lasting power of religion in a world where an endless number of "mysteries" find almost daily scientific explanations.
Lack of addressing this issue is a major obstacle to concluding that this book explains religion. Just like Lakoff and Nunez' book did for mathematics, this account can be seen as a first attempt linking mechanisms of the mind with the product religion. At many instances Boyer refers to currently unknown inner workings of the brain. This is of course entirely acceptable, yet the resulting final explanation may be more mechanistically accurate, but less satisfying than the ones given by Freud and Jung. Moreover, I think that Boyer's repeated mention of religion parasitizing existing mechanisms is borderline inflammatory. Based on the very raison d'etre of this book, calling the relationship "symbiotic" would be more accurate. Similarly, the term "airy nothing", repeated at the very end of the book, suggests an unwarranted bias. Still, I considered reading this book a worthwhile experience and think that the discourse on "How the Embodied Mind Brings Religion into Being" given in the earliest chapters of this book warrants the price of admission.
Rating: 
Summary: Informed refreshing perspectives add much
Review: As a cognitive scientist I greatly enjoyed the scientific arguments; as a human being I enjoyed this in depth look that puts aside the easy answers to try to understand why people believe as they do. NOT anti-God or such. What I took away (personally) is that when we clear away all the superstition and platitudes, the deep question of existence becomes more informed and a more self-aware and meaningful quest, not less so. Alas, I suspect these ideas will not get the circulation that they deserve, and is truly desperately needed. The author does not discuss recent neurobiology of consciousness, but then non-religious people have consciousness experiences too. Otherwise, book is clearly structured. A whole new way of thinking; I am not one to actually buy the books I encounter in the bookstore, but this one was a keeper. I'm telling my friends and it is a discussion of religion for the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: A revelation!
Review: As a neurologist with an interest in cognitive neuroscience, I've always been interested in the origins of religion. Why DO people believe all these wacky things anyway? I had what I thought were some original ideas on the subject, but after reading Boyer's fascinating book, where I saw some of them openly discussed and shot down, I conclude that I am a rank amateur in this area! My ideas came from my exposure to the world's major religions, but Boyer's perspective as an anthropologist allows him to bring in examples of religious beliefs from a wide range of cultures, which is necessary to formulate a full theory of how and why religion evolved. He also brings in evidence from cognitive science and evolutionary psychology to buttress his views. I found his writing style dryly humourous, and often his points are made with enough of a punchline that I laughed out loud. So to me, this book was, dare I say it, a revelation! Highly recommended to anybody with an interest in religion...which is to say, everybody!
Rating:
Summary: A revelation!
Review: As a neurologist with an interest in cognitive neuroscience, I've always been interested in the origins of religion. Why DO people believe all these wacky things anyway? I had what I thought were some original ideas on the subject, but after reading Boyer's fascinating book, where I saw some of them openly discussed and shot down, I conclude that I am a rank amateur in this area! My ideas came from my exposure to the world's major religions, but Boyer's perspective as an anthropologist allows him to bring in examples of religious beliefs from a wide range of cultures, which is necessary to formulate a full theory of how and why religion evolved. He also brings in evidence from cognitive science and evolutionary psychology to buttress his views. I found his writing style dryly humourous, and often his points are made with enough of a punchline that I laughed out loud. So to me, this book was, dare I say it, a revelation! Highly recommended to anybody with an interest in religion...which is to say, everybody!
Rating:
Summary: Persuasive and penetrating
Review: Boyer's analysis of human spiritual beliefs is at once sweeping and precise. Using evolutionary concepts to demonstrate the foundation of "belief" is not new, but Boyer surpasses all previous efforts. He shows how all peoples have some reverence for spiritual entities, but these aren't necessarily "gods". In most instances the veneration is more likely to be for departed ancestors as it is for some vague "divine" object. Ancestor worship is widespread in today's societies as it was in Neolithic times. Boyer accepts this universality as well as the intensity of feeling associated with the homage, whether for a vague spirit or identifiable individual. Such universality, he proposes, must have evolutionary roots. In his view those roots lie in our cognitive processes. "Religion" is defined at the outset chiefly by casting away commonly-held definitions. While some aspects of "religion" may deal with natural forces, mostly they are related to daily human activities. In Boyer's view, these forces are "projections of the human mind". In nearly every instance, the "spirit" whether ancestor, deity or even a forest tree, exhibits human characteristics. These are not always predictable. In fact their very presence is predicated on spurious and unforeseen events. The very unreality of their behaviour commands respect. Our perception of their existence result from "inferences" stored in the mind from other experiences. Although he views Western institutionalised religions as outside the norm of human society, the same basic pattern holds even there. "Consolation", usually a form of release from death, for example, is almost absent from most religions. Western monotheism is an exception from the human norm. Boyer argues that the human mind has evolved in communities which have reinforced acceptance of supernatural entities. He incorporates Richard Dawkins' "meme" concept to demonstrate how this process works. Ideas about the supernatural are communicated to others as experiences, warnings or even behaviour norms. Since so many facets of this acceptance relate to behaviour of individuals within the community, the feedback loop reinforces his view of the evolutionary context. It isn't the community itself which fosters the evolutionary persistence of belief, but individuals whose genetic tendency for belief were those who mated and bred, passing and strengthening that tendency. The memes aren't absolutes, but like genes, may be modified over time and place. Again, like genes, accepted changes become adaptations, varying what the observer infers from the supernatural. Boyer's analysis will remain a seminal work for some time. Provocative and challenging, it raises as many questions as it provides answers. His use of cognitive science as an analytical tool is novel and there are many areas requiring further research. Boyer concedes religion is a "complex" issue, but urges shedding preconceived ideas. More behavioural studies are needed, collecting and analysing evidence. This book introduces new concepts requiring further explaination. It is to be hoped that younger students will further the work outlined in this excellent book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Rating:
Summary: A Groundbreaking Work in Behavioral Science.
Review: In Religion Explained, Boyer attempts what no one else (to my knowledged) has: to present a comprehensive scientific explanation for religion. To undertake such a daunting task, Boyer employees numerous behavioral science disciplines, including evolutionary psychology, experimental social psychology, anthropology, sociology, and archeology just to mention a few. Early on, he debunks common and prevalent explanations for religion (many of which I subscribed to before reading this book) as facile and scientifically invalid.
Using Evolutionary Psychology as a foundation, Boyer describes how specific brain structures evolved to perform specific inferences related to basic survival (especially relevant are predatory and contagion inference) and the numerous inter-related systems used for conspecific interaction and cooperation. [It is especially important to understand that most inferences operate apart from conscious perception.] After comprehensive discussion of the multitudinous, interactive inference systems, Boyer describes how they collectively work to form religion. He explains that most varieties religious concepts (gods, spirits and other supernatural agents and their abilities; morality; death issues, etc.) and public behavior (rituals and prayer, religious-associated violence) can be explained in terms of these inference systems.
While he presents an effective argument for most aspects of religion, Boyer admits that a convincing scientific explanation for some forms of ritualistic behavior is elusive. He offers detailed speculation regarding the etiology of rituals, but admits the research at this time is inconclusive and mostly speculative. He compares rituals to similar non-religious activity, such as the compulsions associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, but this is only a plausible partial explanation because religious rituals exhibit distinct differences. OCD compulsions are undesired and cause psychological distress in the participant, while participation in rituals is usually voluntary and isn't inherently distressing to the participants (though sometimes it can be). Also, rituals normally occur in a culturally-related social context while compulsions are a repetitive form of individual behavior.
The only element of Religion Explained that was a little disappointing to me was the cursory discussion of secularism. Boyer explains that religion (in one form or another) is conducive to normal human brain functions. This of course evokes discussion of why some people are completely irreligious. Boyer only touches on this issue briefly and in a manner which seems a little obtuse to me (he states the issue isn't completely explanable in the context of his argument).
Religion Explained is a fascinating scientific treatise on a unique and undeniably significant form of human behavior. This is a fairly complex work (a behavioral science background is certainly helpful), but only to the extent necessary to form a coherent, comprehensive argument. Boyer has shown undeniably that the etiology of religion is far more multi-faceted than most people infer (both scientists and non-scientists). While his argument will certainly be refined as the various conceptual elements evolve and more research emerges, this new, scientifically vital approach ro religion will likely prove to be a monumental achievement.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant ideas, poorly presented
Review: It's one of the big ones, no doubt about that. Why is religion such a human universal? Boyer has decided to play it cool - no discussion of the, mostly Germanic, heavyweights of the past with their late-at-night furrowed-brow philosophical musings. He wants to look at how religion manifests itself throughout the world, not just in the great monotheistic religions. And he wants to bring in findings from evolutionary psychology. Fair enough....I'm sure this is the way to go. But does it have to be so dull? Partly this is necessary, as Boyer argues, because one of his aims is to make us appreciate how extraordinary some of the things we take for granted really are. For instance - and he goes on at great length about this - children pick up straightaway on a concept like "animal", and once told the name of an animal automatically infer all sorts of things about it without having them spelled out. Well, fair enough, though it doesn't make compelling reading. But some of it is simply down to the author. For instance he starts a chapter with a discussion of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice which goes on for two or three pages. The point? Just as great houses require servants and staff hidden away below stairs, so with the human mind there are all sorts of things going on which we aren't aware of but which are necessary. I mean, this is just dull, plodding writing. There are some interesting things in here, but it was one of those books where I'd often find I'd read a paragraph without paying any attention, and by the end it was touch and go whether I'd bother to finish it. Plus, frankly, I'm not sure that either anthropology or evolutionary psychology are in a position yet to come up with the goods on this subject. No doubt in a few years someone will write a stunning book with this approach, but they'll need to be better writers than Mr Boyer.
Rating:
Summary: Great ideas, stuccato form
Review: Normally a book with this much validity to it should be formed carefully, especially if it will require the reader to reorient his normal thinking pattern. Present the idea, then validate it with research and support. Frequently I found myself headed off the trail when the author gave wrong assumptions or ideas that would later be refuted and invalidated. Dispite the mechanics of the work, the primary suppositions are presented and supported. It will tell you what the human animal thought process is and why spirits, ancestors, and ghosts slip into our cognitive process.
Rating:
Summary: Complex Explainations for a complex issue
Review: The author's tendency for presenting anomolous examples that fail his rule as opposed to consistent examples that all conform to his rules detract from the valid insights contained in this work. If you are willing to drive deep to find the explainations through a labyrinth of counter examples I can highly recommend this work.
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