The Complexity of Beliefs: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Religion and Culture

Mostafa Alaei Ardekani; Mahta Hamzepour

doi:10.63053/ijhes.93

Authors

Mostafa Alaei Ardekani MA of HR Management, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Tehran,Iran
Mahta Hamzepour Undergraduate Bachelor, Department of Communications Science, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63053/ijhes.93

Keywords:

Belief Systems, Supernatural Beliefs, factual beliefs, religious credences, Cognitive Processes, Non-doctrinal traditions, Doctrinal Religions, Cultural Constructs

Abstract

This paper explores the intricate relationship between religion and belief systems, emphasizing the complexity of religious phenomena as cultural constructs rather than mere expressions of faith. Through a comprehensive analysis of various anthropological perspectives, we argue that religion encompasses a diverse array of cognitive processes that shape human understanding and social interaction. By examining case studies from different cultures, we highlight the significance of supernatural beliefs and their implications for societal cohesion. This study aims to elucidate the cognitive underpinnings of religious beliefs and their role in shaping human behavior, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of religion.

References

• Allan, W. (2024) Belief, action, and suffering in Euripides’ Bacchae. Dioniso.

• Barrett, J.L. (2000) Exploring the natural foundations of religion. Trends in cognitive sciences, 4(1), 29–34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01419-9

• Barrett, J.L. & Keil, F.C. (1996) Conceptualizing a nonnatural entity: Anthropomorphism in God concepts. Cognitive psychology, 31(3), 219–247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/cogp.1996.0017

• Barth, F. (1975) Ritual and knowledge among the Baktaman of New Guinea. (No Title).

• Baumard, N. & Boyer, P. (2013) Explaining moral religions. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 17(6), 272–280. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.04.003. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.04.003

• Bellah, R.N. (2011) Religion in human evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age. Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674063099

• Boyer, P. (1994) Cognitive constraints on cultural representations: Natural ontologies and religious ideas. 05214196. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511752902.016

• Boyer, P. (2007) Religion explained: The evolutionary origins of religious thought. Hachette UK.

• Boyer, P. (2022) Religious Beliefs. The Cognitive Science of Belief: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009001021.018

• Boyer, P. & Bergstrom, B. (2011) Threat-detection in child development: an evolutionary perspective. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(4), 1034–1041. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.08.010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.08.010

• Child, A.B. & Child, I.L. (1993) Religion and magic in the life of traditional peoples. Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs N.J.

• Cosmides, L. & Tooby, J. (2010) Groups in mind: The coalitional roots of war and morality. Human morality and sociality: Evolutionary and comparative perspectives.

• Danish, A., Mosaberpanah, M.A. & Salim, M.U. (2020) Past and present techniques of self-healing in cementitious materials: A critical review on efficiency of implemented treatments. Journal of Materials Research and Technology, 9(3), 6883–6899. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmrt.2020.04.053

• Dickinson, D.L. (2024) Deliberation, mood response, and the confirmation bias in the religious belief domain. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 109, 102161. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2024.102161. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2024.102161

• Doncker, E. de (2024) The Divine Mouth Avoided in LXX? A Vorlage-Centric Analysis of Anthropomorphism, with a Focus on LXX-Numbers 20: 24.

• Gambetta, D. (2009) Codes of the Underworld. Princeton University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400833610

• Goody, J. (1977) The domestication of the savage mind. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge Eng., New York.

• Goody, J. (1986) The logic of writing and the organization of society. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge Cambridgeshire, New York.

• Guthrie, S.E. (1995) Faces in the clouds: A new theory of religion. Oxford University Press.

• Hannam, P., Elton-Chalcraft, S., Ulfat, F., Matemba, Y. & Dietz, G. (2025) Philosophy and Religious Education in Public Schools. Available from: chrome-extension://mhnlakgilnojmhinhkckjpncpbhabphi/pages/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.philosophy-of-education.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F02%2FBJRE-Special-Issue-Philosophy-and-Religious-Education-in-Schools-Call-for-Papers.pdf.

• Harris, P.L. (2000) The work of the imagination. Blackwell Publishing.

• Hart, G. (2006) A dictionary of Egyptian gods and goddesses. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203136447

• Horst, S. (2013) Notions of intuition in the cognitive science of religion. The Monist, 96(3), 377–398. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5840/monist201396317

• Howard, P.N. & Hussain, M.M. (2013) Democracy's fourth wave? digital media and the Arab Spring. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199936953.001.0001

• Insoll, T. (2011) The Oxford handbook of the archaeology of ritual and religion. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232444.001.0001

• Jaspers, K. (1950/2014) The Origin and Goal of History (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315823683

• Kuran, T. (1997) Private truths, public lies: The social consequences of preference falsification. Harvard University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvt1sgqt

• Lawson, E.T. & McCauley, R.N. (1993) Rethinking religion: Connecting cognition and culture. Cambridge University Press.

• Leslie, A.M., Friedman, O. & German, T.P. (2004) Core mechanisms in ‘theory of mind’. Trends in cognitive sciences, 8(12), 528–533. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2004.10.001

• Medina, L.F. (2008) Respuesta a las reseñas de freddy cante y jorge andrés gallego sobre el libro a unified theory of collective action and social change. Cuadernos de Economía, 27(49), 306–314.

• Mercier, H. & Sperber, D. (2009) Intuitive and reflective inferences. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230167.003.0007

• Näreaho, L. (2008) The cognitive science of religion: philosophical observations. Religious Studies, 44(1), 83–98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034412507009328

• Pahucki, J. (2010) Lacan, Jacques. In: Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA, pp. 509–510. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71802-6_782

• Pietraszewski, D. (2013) What Is Group Psychology? In: Banaji, M.R. & Gelman, S.A. (Eds.) Navigating the Social World. Oxford University Press, pp. 253–257. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199890712.003.0046

• Porzia, F. (2024) Religion(s) in Seals. Near Eastern Archaeology, 87(1), 4–13. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1086/727583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/727583

• Pyysiäinen, I. (2021) How religion works: Towards a new cognitive science of religion. Brill.

• Recanati, F. (2000) The iconicity of metarepresentations. Sperber (ed), 311–360. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195141146.003.0012

• Roth, I. (2007) Imaginative minds. Oxford University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197264195.001.0001

• Russell, Y.I. & Gobet, F. (2013) What is counterintuitive? Religious cognition and natural expectation. Review of Philosophy and Psychology, 4, 715–749. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-013-0160-5

• Soleimani, A. (2024) The Knowledge of Uniqe God in Primitive Religions. Existence and Knowledge.

• Sperber, D. (1996) Explaining culture: A naturalistic approach. Oxford Blackwell.

• Sperber, D. (1997) Intuitive and reflective beliefs. Mind & Language, 12(1), 67–83. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0017.1997.tb00062.x

• Spiro, M.E. & d'Andrade, R.G. (1958) A cross-cultural study of some supernatural beliefs. American Anthropologist, 60(3), 456–466. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1958.60.3.02a00050

• Stich, S.P. (1983) From folk psychology to cognitive science: The case against belief. The MIT Press.

• Tooby, J., Cosmides, L. & Høgh-Olesen, H. (2010) Human morality and sociality: evolutionary and comparative perspectives. Choice Reviews Online, 48(04), 48–2376. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5860/CHOICE.48-2376

• van Leeuwen, N. (2014) Religious credence is not factual belief. Cognition, 133(3), 698–715. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2014.08.015

• Villiers, G. de (2024) The conceptualisation of morality in ancient religions at the hand of the Gilgamesh Epic. Verbum et Ecclesia, 45(1), 1–7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v45i1.2983

• Whitehouse, H. (2000) Arguments and icons: Divergent modes of religiosity: Divergent modes of religiosity. OUP Oxford. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198234142.001.0001

• Wikipedia (2024) Jade. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jade&oldid=1160897505 [Accessed 7/19/2023].

• Wolsink, S. (2024) ‘Let Us Just Be Humans’: Reading Allard Pierson’s True Humanity through the Lens of Caputo’s Religion without Religion. Religions, 15(3), 340. Available from: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030340. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15030340

• Woody, E.Z. & Szechtman, H. (2011) Adaptation to potential threat: the evolution, neurobiology, and psychopathology of the security motivation system. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 35(4), 1019–1033. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.08.003