In what Ways Can Religion Be Explained in Evolutionary Terms?

Religion is a very controversial subject, one that has led to war, mass murders, political movements, and various other events that shape human history. How did something that has created such an impact on our species come into existence? The goal of this discussion is first to examine the various information we have of hominid species up to the Neanderthals and humans to assess the division between when the first signs of religion arose in hominid evolution. The next goal is to briefly outline cognitive and lithic evidence explaining the religion of these two species in the Upper Paleolithic. The object of this analysis is to assess the progression of religious ideas through evolution and, in turn, come to some conclusion as to what advances aided religion.…