[ExI] Why religion at all?.

[spike]

> ...On Behalf Of Damien Broderick
> Subject: Re: [ExI] Why religion at all?.
> 
> On 6/5/2010 2:26 PM, spike wrote:
> 
> > ...Church is a singles bar for married people.
> 
> And this explains the rabid non-Presbyterians, with their 
> manly all-men devotions?
> 
> If anything, maybe it explains the slightly more relaxed 
> Presbyterians.  Bonobos vs. chimps... Damien Broderick

Well, exactly.  

Honestly Dr. B, I claim zero understanding of the rabid non-Presbyterians
and their inscrutable ways, none.  We may need to branch into alternative
explanations for their system, but I can be of no help, having never been
into one of these houses of worship.  I sometimes get the feeling that the
militant non-Presbyterians are sensing an actual threat to their entire
memeset, or perhaps a feeling that their system is somehow incompatible with
the rest of the civilzed world.  Perhaps they are acting in desperate and
violent fear that their memeset will be entirely swept away by modernity.

I do like the chimps vs bonobos comparison, being a big fan of bonobos.
Clearly there is an important evolutionary message in their existence.  It
isn't entirely clear that they are a distinct species from common chimps,
however they clearly behave differently from their cousins.  This is
important to understand in light of a recent discussion here regarding
differenial mating by the dominant male vs mating by ladies choice.  I think
what we see in this case is speciation as a result of a slight difference in
behavior: dominant males-win-chimps = bigger individuals, stronger, a
meaner, often murderously violent society, as opposed to
ladies-choice-bonobos = smaller individuals, peaceful, a share the food and
fuck everything in sight society.

If there is a lesson in here anywhere for humans, which society would you
prefer?

spike