Constraints of the Cognitive Sciences of Religion in Explaining the Natural Process of the Formation and Strengthening of Religious Beliefs

Abstract

The cognitive science of religion is a "scientific" approach to study the religion, which seeks to provide the causal explanations for religious beliefs and behaviors. The defenders of the cognitive sciences of religion try to explain the process of formation, strengthening, and prevalence of religious beliefs with the help of natural features of human mind and explaining its mode of operation. In their view, human mental tools are formed so that they have special support for the concept of "God" (and other basic concepts of religion). These mental tools have significant processing biases in accepting the religious beliefs, ultimately leading to the formation, strengthening, and spread of religious beliefs. Thus, this study was conducted to explain the natural process of the formation and strengthening of religious beliefs from the perspective of the cognitive sciences of religion, to extract the explanatory limitations of this approach. The findings of the present study showed that, the cognitive science of religion faces two basic explanatory constraints. The first type results from the lack of attention to the supernatural and social dimensions of religious phenomena, and the second type is due to the explanatory limitations of cognitive mechanisms. <br />