Are religious Children meaner than their secular counterparts? Report of a study with a fatal flaw

Another exciter moves through the network world, cheered on by a Guardian article: Scientists have found (i.e. it must be unquestionably true it) that religious reared children are "meaner" than children from secular families! Although the religious parents would attest to their children higher social skills on average - "the experiment" was reported...

Nov 2015

Rap Guide to Religion by Baba Brinkman hit the (data) shelves!

More than a year ago, I blogged the first time about a special project of Baba Brinkman: Transforming the findings of evolutionary religious studies into a rap album!After the big success of Baba's "Rap Guide to Religion" show, the album is now available for download - enjoy the songs!(Being a specialist in religious demography, my favorite songs are...

Nov 2015

New Studies on the Reproductive Potentials of Religiosity – The Attraction of Religion by D.J. Slone and J.A. van Slyke

For almost a year, I have not been able to blog at "The Nature of Faith" for two reasons: First of all, some German works, books and teaching tasks took all the time I had to spare. And secondly, I have been asked to lead an international and humanitarian project about whom I won't be allowed to talk until next year (for security reasons).With all that...

Jul 2015

Religion evolves! Baba Brinkman raps about Evolutionary Studies of Religion

Since I decided to enter the realms of science as a youth, I entertained a certain dream: That the field of science I wanted to contribute to shouldn't be confined to secluded specialists, but that it should be discussed in public magazines and at kitchen tables, maybe even edutained and enjoyed in movies and arts. Back then, this has been a rather...

May 2015

A Map of Hindu, Buddhist Temples, Sikh Gurdwaras in Germany

As Germany is a rather wealthy country, offering comparable high levels of existential security to its inhabitants, secularization and the subsequent, inevitable decline of birth rates below replacement levels has been taking place for decades. But at the same time, the religiously devout tend to have more children and immigrants are bringing their...

May 2015

God & Cosmology – George Coyne on Belief, Science & Evolution

Some years ago, I blogged about the (German) movie "Das kreative Universum" by Rüdiger Sünner at my German scilog. Recently, Sünner started to put some bonus materials on YouTube, including an interview with the famous Jesuit cosmologist George Coyne, who directed the Vatican Observatory from 1978 to 2006. As this interview has been conducted entirely...

May 2015

Evolutionary Studies of Religion spreading via German Media

Let me start by apologizing for not having texted that much in English these last months. Besides the fact that English is not my first language (as you have probably noticed already) I have been busy writing and answering to a lot of German media covering evolutionary studies of religion and my field of research, religious demography. The new peak...

May 2015

Yes, I am an Evolutionist!

When people press me into defining either as a conservative, a liberal/libertarian or a leftist, I like to answer that I am an "Evolutionär", an evolutionist: My scientific interests and researches have led me to appreciate that any biological or cultural tradition surviving to our day is the product of a long and deep history, which should not be dismissed...

May 2015

Great Adaptations – A Bold Project Bringing Evolutionary Knowledge to Kids

Exploring religion from an evolutionary perspective, I have been repeatedly flabbergasted by a specific gap: Evolutionary theorists tended to bring up far more scientific facts, but dynamic religious movements tended to bring up far more catching narratives! Although a lot of scientific authors and bloggers contributed to closing this gap concerning...

May 2015

Hyper Agency Detection (HAD) as Building Block of Religious Cognition – A Humorous Introduction

Among the many things Charles Darwin got right about evolution, his definitions and theses concerning the evolution of religious beliefs and behaviors deserve special attention. For example, the learned theologian observed his dog growling at moving objects, assuming possible "agency" as a possible building block of early religious cognition.Contemporary...

May 2015