For example, maybe people who believe God is on their side are braver in battle. Or maybe religion is one of the factors (besides more obvious factors) that induces men and women to get married and have lots of babies, and is therefore adaptive just from a Darwinian point of view. Years ago I was struck by an irony: in contemporary America, you've got these stereotypical coastal elites who believe in Darwinism and often live by themselves well into their thirties or forties, and then you've got these stereotypical heartland folks who reject Darwinism but marry young and have 7 kids, 49
...more
