The cognitive science of religion is a relatively new academic field in the study of the origins and causes of religious belief and behaviour. The focal point of empirical research is the role of basic human cognitive functions in the formation and transmission of religious beliefs. However, many theologians and religious scholars are concerned that this perspective will reduce and replace explanations based in religious traditions, beliefs, and values. This book attempts to bridge the reductionist divide between science and religion through examination and critique of different aspects of the cognitive science of religion and offers a conciliatory approach that investigates the multiple causal factors involved in the emergence of religion.

Contents: Introduction; The standard model and the problem of causal reductionism; Counterintuitive religious concepts and emergent cognition; Theological incorrectness and the causal relevance of religious beliefs and theological reasoning; Evolutionary psychology and the emergence of the symbolic mind; Evolution, cognition, and religion: toward a multi-level perspective on the emergence of religious beliefs; Postscript; Bibliography; Index.

James A. Van Slyke completed his Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Philosophy of Religion with a minor in Cognitive Science. He currently serves as Assistant Research Professor in the Travis Research Institute in the Graduate School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Theology at Fuller Theology Seminary and Adjunct Instructor at Azusa Pacific University where he teaches in the Department of Religion and Philosophy and the Department of Undergraduate Psychology.