A Scientific Definition of Religion by

Religion is a collection of behavior that is only unified in our Western conception of it. It need not have a natural unity. There is no reason to assume, and good reason not to assume, that all religious behavior evolved together at the same time in response to a single shift in the environment. This article does not look at the religion as a unified entity and seek a definition of its essence. Instead, it looks at what science needs to know in order to discover how and why religion came into existence as a human behavior. What does science need to know about religion, or how should religion be defined so that science can look at it? A definition that refers to observable behavior is required. Then, a preliminary hypothesis to orient observations is proposed. I suggest a preliminary hypothesis consisting of three stages in the evolution of religion: (1) a cognizer of unobservable agents, (2) a sacred category classifier, and (3) a motivator for public sacrifice. Each one of these stages is a nucleus of modern anthropological theorizing. Although they all come together in the Western folk concept of religion, this article proposes that they are independent evolutionary complexes that should not be lumped together, but should be investigated as separate types of religious behavior. Understanding Religion Religion is a human activity that can be easily accepted only within the framework of reality that it creates for itself. If you accept the existence of whatever myth, god, spirit, or supernatural force that a religion proposes, then you can see the logic of all that follows. However, most of the entities, gods or whatever, that are the basis of religious thought and action cannot have their existence validated by direct observation. How do non-believers understand religion? Simply saying that the believers are crazy or living in a different world will not suffice. The believers are also normal human beings. They are no crazier than anyone else. There is another way to look at religion, through science. Science has provided human culture with an excellent understanding of the natural world and human behavior. However, for the scientist, the logic of religious behavior is not simple. The scientist must understand religion as the