Editing Meme (section)

==Religion==
{{See also|Evolutionary psychology of religion}}
Richard Dawkins called for a re-analysis of religion in terms of the evolution of self-replicating [[Idea in anthropology|ideas]] ''apart from'' any resulting biological advantages they might bestow.
{{blockquote|As an enthusiastic Darwinian, I have been dissatisfied with explanations that my fellow-enthusiasts have offered for human behaviour. They have tried to look for 'biological advantages' in various attributes of human civilization. For instance, tribal religion has been seen as a mechanism for solidifying group identity, valuable for a pack-hunting species whose individuals rely on cooperation to catch large and fast prey. Frequently the evolutionary preconception in terms of which such theories are framed is implicitly group-selectionist, but it is possible to rephrase the theories in terms of orthodox gene selection.|[[Richard Dawkins]]|''[[The Selfish Gene]]''}}

He argued that the role of key replicator in cultural evolution belongs not to genes, but to memes replicating thought from person to person by means of imitation. These replicators respond to selective pressures that may or may not affect biological reproduction or survival.<ref name="selfish"/>

In her book ''[[The Meme Machine]]'', [[Susan Blackmore]] regards religions as particularly tenacious memes. Many of the features common to the most widely practiced religions provide built-in advantages in an evolutionary context, she writes. For example, religions that preach of the value of [[faith]] over [[evidence]] from everyday experience or [[reason]] inoculate societies against many of the most basic tools people commonly use to evaluate their ideas. By linking [[altruism]] with religious affiliation, religious memes can proliferate more quickly because people perceive that they can reap societal as well as personal rewards. The longevity of religious memes improves with their documentation in revered [[scripture|religious texts]].<ref name="machine"/>

[[Aaron Lynch (writer)|Aaron Lynch]] attributed the robustness of religious memes in human culture to the fact that such memes incorporate multiple modes of meme transmission. Religious memes pass down the generations from parent to child and across a single generation through the meme-exchange of [[proselytism]]. Most people will hold the religion taught them by their parents throughout their life. Many religions feature adversarial elements, punishing [[apostasy]], for instance, or demonizing [[infidels]]. In ''Thought Contagion'' Lynch identifies the memes of transmission in [[Christianity]] as especially powerful in scope. Believers view the conversion of non-believers both as a religious duty and as an act of altruism. The promise of [[heaven]] to believers and threat of [[hell]] to non-believers provide a strong incentive for members to retain their belief. Lynch asserts that belief in the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]] in Christianity amplifies each of its other replication advantages through the indebtedness believers have to their [[Redeemer (Christianity)|Savior]] for sacrifice on the cross. The image of the crucifixion recurs in religious [[sacrament]]s, and the proliferation of symbols of the [[Christian cross|cross]] in homes and churches potently reinforces the wide array of Christian memes.<ref name="lynch"/>

Although religious memes have proliferated in human cultures, the modern scientific community has been relatively resistant to religious belief. Robertson (2007)<ref name=Robertson2007>{{cite journal |last=Robertson |first=Lloyd Hawkeye |date=2007 |title=Reflections on the use of spirituality to privilege religion in scientific discourse: Incorporating considerations of self |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=449–461 |doi=10.1007/s10943-006-9105-y |s2cid=39449795 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/890987 |access-date=1 July 2019 |archive-date=8 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308114723/https://zenodo.org/record/890987 |url-status=live}}</ref> reasoned that if evolution is accelerated in conditions of propagative difficulty,<ref name=Dennett1995>{{cite book |last=Dennett |first=Daniel C. |date=1995 |title=Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York}}</ref>{{page number needed|date=October 2023}} then we would expect to encounter variations of religious memes, established in general populations, addressed to scientific communities. Using a memetic approach, Robertson deconstructed two attempts to privilege religiously held spirituality in scientific discourse. Advantages of a memetic approach as compared to more traditional "modernization" and "supply side" theses in understanding the evolution and propagation of religion were explored.