A Defense of Religious Liberty

Thesis to Be Proved Religious liberty is the freedom of the people to publicly profess whatever religious truths are agreeable to the reasoned judgment of the majority Preface The appearance of religious liberty within the socio-political order signals an underlying agreement among all believers; therefore, it cannot be the product of any one faith. Instead, the idea of religious liberty coincides with the appearance of a purely rational conception of God among the people. By “rational conception” I mean God as conceived by the mind independently...

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Evolutionary origin of religions

Nonhuman religious behavior Humanity’s closest living relatives are common chimpanzees and bonobos. These primates share a common ancestor with humans who lived between four and six million years ago. It is for this reason that chimpanzees and bonobos are viewed as the best available surrogate for this common ancestor. Barbara King argues that while non-human primates are not religious, they do exhibit some traits that would have been necessary for the evolution of religion. These traits include high intelligence, a capacity for symbolic...

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