Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age

In this magisterial effort, eminent sociologist of religion Bellah (Habits of the Heart) attempts nothing less than to show the ways that the evolution of certain capacities among humans provided the foundation for religion. He traces three stages of cultural evolution that give rise to various types of religion. Thus, mimetic culture was primarily gestural and nonverbal; dance might have been one of the earliest forms of such culture. Mythic culture arises as language develops and complex explanatory narratives emerge. Archaic religion evolves out of the capacity for mimesis and myth, but as society becomes more complex, religions attempt to clarify the differences between themselves, to question old narratives, and to call into question the old hierarchies in the name of spiritual and ethical universalism. Within this new theoretic culture, the great axial religions of the ancient Near East, China, Greece, and India combine the capacities for myth and ritual even as they develop the capacity to theorize. Bellah brings his thesis to life by illustrating profusely this development in each type of religion. Those with the stamina to trudge through Bellah’s dense prose will be rewarded with a wealth of sparkling insights into the history of religion. (Sept.)