Cognitive Science of Religion and the Study of Theological Concepts

Abstract

The cultural transmission of theological concepts remains an underexplored topic in the cognitive science of religion (CSR). In this paper, I examine whether approaches from CSR, especially the study of content biases in the transmission of beliefs, can help explain the cultural success of some theological concepts. This approach reveals that there is more continuity between theological beliefs and ordinary religious beliefs than CSR authors have hitherto recognized: the cultural transmission of theological concepts is influenced by content biases that also underlie the reception of ordinary religious concepts.

How Psychological Dispositions Influence the Theology of the Afterlife

“…We have argued elsewhere (e.g., De Cruz & De Smedt 2015, De Cruz 2014, that theologians and philosophers of religion are not immune to the cognitive dispositions that give rise to religious beliefs in laypeople. Theologians build on the intuitive views that laypeople have, typically by making such views more explicit.…”

Idolatry, indifference, and the scientific study of religion: two new Humean arguments

“…14.Elsewhere, De Cruz arrives at a view distinct from Boyer's, but not in ways relevant for our purposes. See De Cruz (2013). …”

Does religious belief infect philosophical analysis?

“…But there is a notable phenomenon in philosophy of religion that suggests an empirical challenge to these rationalist projects. In comparison to the rest of the philosophical profession, there is an overrepresentation of theistic philosophers of religion (Chalmers and Bourget, 2014; De Cruz, 2013). In fact, of all specialization and philosophical view correlations in Chalmers and Bourget's large (2014) study of philosophical views, the greatest is between specializing in philosophy of religion and endorsing theism.…”

“…In the same way, identification as a consequentialist or deontologist should not affect one's ability to judge a particular ethical arguments' strength or logical validity. 3 De Cruz's (2013) 'Cognitive Science of Religion and the Study of Theological Concepts' provides some compelling empirical evidence that religious commitments influence certain types of philosophical belief. Philosophers of religion and theologians were asked to rate arguments for theism (e.g.…”