Early Christian Mind

The structure of the human mind has developed through an evolutionary process of hundreds of thousands of years. Consequently, the basic features of the mind are similar across different cultures and societies.

According to P. Boyer, religious ideas violate the widespread ontological expectations of our minds. Typical religious concepts contain only one counterintuitive element, whereas all other features of the ontological category remain intact.

Full Access Agents

Humans share the capacity to identify 'agents' from a very young age. Agents are self-propelled entities that move and act in a purposeful way. 'Full access agents' are counterintuitive agents that have knowledge of all strategic information about people. Boyer suggests that such agents enjoy a great advantage in cultural transmission. Therefore, most spirits and gods are full access counterintuitive agents.

Religious Belief

Counterintuitive representations evoke emotions which are often interpreted according to the prevailing doctrinal schemas. Then they are encoded in semantic memory and lose their personal character. According to Pyysiäinen, the emotional commitment to schematized religious experience is what we call 'religious belief'.

Links

• For an introduction to the cognitive study of religion, visit the Religion and Cognition homepage.
• At the beginning of the 1990s, R.N. McCauley and E.Th. Lawson's work on religous ritual gave a decisive impetus to the cognitive study of religion. In their recent book, they have proposed the ritual form theory.
• The recent books by Boyer and Pyysiäinen, offer cognitive theories of religion with different accents.
• Religion in Mind is a collection of essays dealing with many of the above-mentioned ideas as well as other related subjects.
• Another collection of essays, edited by J. Andresen and R.K.C. Forman, discusses meditation, visions, and other altered states of consciousness.
• Learn more on the work of McCauley, Boyer, Pyysiäinen, and Andresen from their homepages.

© 2002 I. Czachesz