[Book review of:] Robin Dunbar, How Religion Evolved: And Why It Endures

Robin Dunbar’s new book, How Religion Evolved, is a fascinating exploration of the origins and evolution of religion and its continuing appeal in the modern world, arising from his work in the ISSR’s recent project on “Religion and the Social Brain,” funded by the Templeton Religion Trust. Writing in an accessible style and peppering his discourse with lots of examples and historical anecdotes, Dunbar sets about to explore two main puzzles about religion. First, why is religion so universally appealing to humans and how come it is so resilient in the face of various adversities, ranging from secularism and philosophical positivism to outright persecution and attempts at suppression, as in Soviet Russia or Communist China? Second, why do religions tend to fragment over time and branch out into sects that become themselves new religions?