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8/30/2010 Is Believing In God Evolutionarily Adva…
Is Believing In God Evolutionarily Advantageous?

by ALIX SPIEGEL
August 30, 2010 text size A A A
Jesse Bering's mother died of cancer on a Sunday, in her own bed, at 9 o'clock at night. Bering
and his siblings closed her door and went downstairs, hoping they might somehow get some sleep.
It was a long, hard night, but around 7 a.m., something happened: The wind chimes outside his
mother's window started to chime.
Bering remembers waking to the tinkle of these bells, a small but distinct sound in an otherwise
silent house. And he remembers thinking that those bells carried a very specific message.
"It seemed to me ... that she was somehow telling us that she had made it to the other side. You
know, cleared customs in heaven," Bering says.
The thought surprised him. Bering was a confirmed atheist. He did not believe in any kind of
supernatural anything. He prided himself on being a scientist, a psychologist who believed only in
the measurable material world. But, he says, he simply couldn't help himself.
"My mind went there. It leapt there," Bering says. "And from a psychological perspective, this was
really interesting to me. Because I didn't believe it on the one hand, but on the other hand I
experienced it."
Why is it, Bering wondered, that even a determined skeptic could not stop himself from perceiving
the supernatural? It really bothered him.
It was a very good question, he decided, to take up in his lab.
God, Through The Lens Of Evolution
For decades, the intellectual descendants of Darwin have pored over ancient bones and bits of
fossils, trying to piece together how fish evolved into man, theorizing about the evolutionary
advantage conferred by each physical change. And over the past 10 years, a small group of
academics have begun to look at religion in the same way: they've started to look at God and the
supernatural through the lens of evolution.
In the history of the world, every culture in every location

at every point in time has developed some supernatural
belief system. And when a human behavior is so
Whether it's a dead
universal, scientists often argue that it must be an
evolutionary adaptation along the lines of standing ancestor or God,
upright. That is, something so helpful that the people whatever supernatural
who had it thrived, and the people who didn't slowly died agent it is, if you think
out until we were all left with the trait. But what could be they're watching you,
the evolutionary advantage of believing in God?
your behavior is going to
Bering is one of the academics who are trying to figure be affected.
that out. In the years since his mother's death, Bering
npr.org/templates/story/story.php?stor… 1/8
8/30/2010 y Is Believing In God Evolutionarily
g Adva…
has done experiments in his lab at Queens University,
Belfast, in an attempt to understand how belief in the - Jesse Bering, psychologist,
supernatural might have conferred some advantage and Queens University, Belfast
made us into the species we are today.
In one experiment, children between the ages of 5 and 9 were shown to a room and told to throw a
Velcro ball at a Velcro dartboard. They were told that if they were able to hit the bull's-eye, they'd
get a special prize. But this particular game had an unusual set of rules: The children were told that
they had to throw from behind, they weren't allowed to throw the ball while facing the dartboard,
and they had to use their nondominant hand — rules that basically made it impossible for any of
the children to win the game unless they cheated.
The children in the study were divided into three groups. The first group was left alone and told to
play the game as best they could. The second were told the same, with one difference — the
children in the second group were told that there was someone special who was going to watch
them. The experimenters showed the kids a picture of a very pretty woman — a character that
Bering had made up whose name was Princess Alice.
Princess Alice, the kids were told, had a magical power: Alice could make herself invisible. Then the
children were shown a chair and were told that Alice was sitting in the chair and that Alice would
watch them play the game after the researcher left. The third group of kids was told to play the
game, but the researcher sat with them and simply never left the room at all.
The question that Bering sought to answer was this: Which group of children was least likely to
cheat?
The children in the first group — the completely unsupervised kids — by far cheated the most. But
what was surprising was the behavior of the second group.
The children who were under the impression that Princess Alice was in the room with them were
just as likely to refrain from cheating as those children who were actually in the room with a physical
real-life human being. A similar study Bering did with adults showed the same thing — that they
were dramatically less likely to cheat when they thought they were being observed by a
supernatural presence.
A Change In Behavior
Deities From Around The World
Bering has a credo, a truth he says he's
learned after years of studying this stuff.
"I've always said that I don't believe in God, but

I don't really believe in atheists either," Bering
says. "Everybody experiences the illusion that
God — or some type of supernatural agent —
is watching them or is concerned about what
they do in their sort of private everyday moral
lives."
These supernatural agents, Bering adds, might
have very different names. What some call
God, others call Karma. There are literally
thousands of names, but according to Bering
they all have the same effect.
"Whether it's a dead ancestor or God, whatever supernatural agent it is, if you think they're
watching you, your behavior is going to be affected," he says.
In fact, Bering says that believing that supernatural beings are watching you is so basic to being
human that even committed atheists regularly have moments where their minds turn in a
supernatural direction, as his did in the wake of his mother's death.
"They experience it but they reject it," Bering says. "Sort of override or stomp on their immediate
intuition. But that's not to say that they don't experience it. We all have the same basic brain. And
our brains have evolved to work in a particular way."
Why would the human brain have evolved to work in that

way?
Through the lens of
For Bering, and some of his friends, the answer to that
question has everything to do with what he discovered in evolution, a belief in God
his lab — the way the kids and adults stopped cheating serves a very important
as soon as they thought a supernatural being might be purpose: Religious belief
watching them. Through the lens of evolution then, a
set us on the path to
belief in God serves a very important purpose: Religious
belief set us on the path to modern life by stopping
modern life by stopping
cheaters and promoting the social good. cheaters and promoting
the social good.
God And Social Cooperation
Dominic Johnson is a professor at the University of

Edinburgh in the United Kingdom and another one of the
leaders in this field. And to Johnson, before you can
understand the role religion and the supernatural might have played in making us the people we
are today, you really have to appreciate just how improbable our modern lives are.
Today we live in a world where perfect strangers are incredibly nice to each other on a regular
basis. All day long, strangers open doors for each other, repair each other's bodies and cars and
washing machines. They swap money for food and food for money. In short: they cooperate.
This cooperation makes all kinds of things

More From The Human Edge possible, of course. Because we can cooperate,
we can build sophisticated machines and create
When Did We Become whole cities — communities that require huge
Mentally Modern? amounts of coordination. We can do things that
The notion that objects can no individual or small group could do.
represent ideas is one of the key
traits that make us human.
The question is: How did we get to be so
cooperative? For academics like Johnson, this
From Primitive Parts, A is a profound puzzle.
Highly Evolved Human
Brain "Explaining cooperation is a huge cottage
Our brain is capable of industry," Johnson says. "It dominates the
observational learning and high- pages of top journals in science and economics
level cognition -- in 3 pounds of jelly.
and psychology. You would think that it was very
simple, but in fact from a scientific academic
point of view, it just often doesn't make sense."
It doesn't make sense because there's often tension between the interests of the group and the
interests of the individual. Johnson gives an example. Recently he was on the subway in New York
and as he was going through the turnstile a little child ran in with him and got through the barrier.
He got onto the subway without ever paying.
"Now we only have the Metro if everyone pays," Johnson

says. "But there's an advantage for everyone if they
don't have to pay themselves."
Everywhere you look
And what's true of the subway is true of everything. around the world, you find
examples of people
Why fight in a war, risk your own death, if someone else altering their behavior
will fight it for you? Why pay taxes? Why reduce your
because of concerns for
carbon footprint?
supernatural
These all have clear costs, and from an individual consequences of their
perspective, you and your offspring are much more likely actions. They don't do
to thrive if you don't get killed in a war or pay your taxes
things that they consider
— if you behave like the child in the subway.
bad because they think
The problem is that even a relatively small number of they'll be punished for it.
people who choose to behave like the child can affect
the functioning of the whole.
- Dominic Johnson, professor,
"Even a few cheats undermine cooperation," Johnson University of Edinburgh
says, because once people realize that they are paying
for the same thing others are enjoying free, they become
less willing to cooperate.
Punishment And Deterrents: Enforcing God's Law
Today, if you cheat — if you decide to pass on paying Uncle Sam or if you steal a car — there are
systems in place that will track you down and punish you. And this threat of punishment keeps you
on the straight and narrow. But imagine if you lived hundreds of thousands of years ago.
"We know that punishment is very effective at promoting cooperation," Johnson says. "The problem
is: Who punished in the past before we had police and courts and law and government? There
wasn't anyone formally to carry out the punishment"
In those early human communities when someone did something wrong, someone else in the small
human group would have to punish them. But as Johnson points out, punishing itself is often
dangerous because the person being punished probably won't like it.
"That person has a family; that person has a memory and is going to develop a grudge," Johnson
says. "So there are going to be potentially quite disruptive consequences of people taking the law
into their own hands."
On the other hand, Johnson says, if there are Gods or a God who must be obeyed, these strains
are reduced. After all, the punisher isn't a vigilante; he's simply enforcing God's law.
"You have a very nice situation," Johnson says. "There are no reprisals against punishers. And the
other nice thing about supernatural agents is that they are often omniscient and omnipresent."
If God is everywhere and sees everything, people curb their selfish impulses even when there's no
one around. Because with God, there is no escape. "God knows what you did," Johnson says, "and
God is going to punish you for it and that's an incredibly powerful deterrent. If you do it again, he's
going to know and he is going to tally up your good deals and bad deeds and you will suffer the
consequences for it either in this life or in an afterlife."
Differing Views
So the argument goes that as our human ancestors spread around the world in bands, keeping
together for food and protection, groups with a religious belief system survived better because they
worked better together.
We are their descendants. And Johnson says their belief in the supernatural is still very much with
us.
"Everywhere you look around the world, you find examples of people altering their behavior
because of concerns for supernatural consequences of their actions. They don't do things that
they consider bad because they think they'll be punished for it."
Of course there are plenty of criticisms of these ideas. For example one premise of this argument is
that religious belief is beneficial because it helped us to cooperate. But a small group of academics
argue that religious beliefs have ultimately been more harmful than helpful, because those religious
beliefs inspire people to go to war.
And then there are the people who say that cooperation doesn't come from God — that
cooperation evolved from our need to take care of family or show potential mates that we were a
good choice. The theories are endless.
Unfortunately it's not possible now to rewind the movie, so to speak, and see what actually
happened. So these speculations will remain just that: speculations.
As unknowable — ultimately — as God himself.
Related NPR Stories

Is This Your Brain On God? July 21, 2009
Are Spiritual Encounters All In Your Head? May 19, 2009
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Recent First
Bob Potter (watches) wrote:
Jeff Davis (_Jeff_) wrote: "... we can't utter that word in our schools anymore."
Where do you get your information, anyway? Of course you can utter that word (whatever it
was) in your schools. You just can't proselytize in my school, to my kid, while being paid with
my tax dollars. Golden rule.
Mon Aug 30 2010 21:24:34 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)
Recommend (0) Report abuse
Judith Laufer (LaHapienda) wrote:

The silliness of this report is not worthy of NPR. Early gods found in the hearth or the trees
were not watching human behavior. People who sacrified other people to make the crops
grow were not worried about morality but about finding the tricks needed to keep the various
gods on their side in the power game. Babysitter God is a modern invention.

jm walsh (walshamatic1) wrote: "THese stories on NPR always bring out the god haters for
sure."
Which commenters are the god haters?

Lawrence Lamb (LLJR) wrote:

This has got to be one of the silliest things I have ever heard on NPR. Consider this - just
suppose that God is actually real and not a figment of our imagination. Suppose He created
us to know Him, and because we like having our own way, we constantly are fighting to
explain the cosmos any way that we can (any shred of evidence that we can manufacture
that puts us at ease that we are still masters of our fate and captains od our souls will do)
but this God thing keeps showing up just above the subconscious. And all the "bad" stuff
that we do we still feel uneasy about, no matter how we try to convince ourselves otherwise
(sometimes even through unspeakable thoughts and actions) because He wove His image
into our lives, and He wants us to have peace by making peace with Him. Just sayin....

Don Hunt (donth) wrote: "How do we explain the overwhelming belief that something exists?
Well first we rule out the possibility that it exists."
You seem to be implying that scientists are stupid because they don't recognize that religion
exists because of God's existence. If that were the case, how would you explain all the
mutually contradictory religions?
matt hirsch (matt00) wrote:

why didn't you talk to Michael Shermer. this is what he does.
K. Delgado (everyman_apart) wrote:

As a long-time NPR listener and reader, I have to say this is my favorite article you guys
have put out yet. It has completely summarized about six months of my writing on the
philosophy of faith on my own blog.
(Obligatory plug: www.humanityiloveyou.com, if you're interested, which you're not :)
Thanks, Alix!
K. Delgado (everyman_apart) wrote:

As a long-time NPR listener and reader, I have to say this is my favorite article you guys
have put out yet. Thanks, Alix!
Steve Hedrick (cagctg) wrote:

The book, "The Faith Instinct" by Nicholas Wade is a very good start to understanding the
origin of religiousity.
Rudi Saunders (Rudigross) wrote:

Religion has one over-riding purpose: to control and ration sex. To control women, (whose
sex drive is generally less than that of men)and make them available to "alpha" males. To
control prostitution and homosexuality (pagans authorizing it in a "sacred" setting).Judaism
made marriage and procreation "sacred' and outlawed homoerotic behaviors and
Christianity making sex "dirty" and suggesting abstinence even in marriage. All the rest is
just extensions of the original purpose.
View all comments (120)»

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8/30/2010 Is Believing In God Evolutionarily Adva…

Is Believing In God Evolutionarily Advantageous?

August 30, 2010 text size A A A

It was a very good question, he decided, to take up in his lab.

God, Through The Lens Of Evolution

In the history of the world, every culture in every location

"I've always said that I don't believe in God, but

These supernatural agents, Bering adds, might

Why would the human brain have evolved to work in that

Dominic Johnson is a professor at the University of

This cooperation makes all kinds of things

"Now we only have the Metro if everyone pays," Johnson

Punishment And Deterrents: Enforcing God's Law

As unknowable — ultimately — as God himself.

Related NPR Stories

Post this comment to Facebook, too?

Judith Laufer (LaHapienda) wrote:

Bob Potter (watches) wrote:

Which commenters are the god haters?

Mon Aug 30 2010 21:17:04 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)

Lawrence Lamb (LLJR) wrote:

Bob Potter (watches) wrote:

matt hirsch (matt00) wrote:

K. Delgado (everyman_apart) wrote:

(Obligatory plug: www.humanityiloveyou.com, if you're interested, which you're not :)

K. Delgado (everyman_apart) wrote:

Steve Hedrick (cagctg) wrote:

Rudi Saunders (Rudigross) wrote:

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