Ritual and Religion in the Making of Humanity

This book argues that religion can and must be reconciled with science. Combining adaptive and cognitive approaches it is a comprehensive analysis of religion''s evolutionary significance and its inextricable interdependence with language. It is also a detailed study of religion''s main component ritual which constructs the conceptions that we take to be religious and therefore central in the making of humanity''s adaptation. The text amounts to a manual for effective ritual illustrated by examples drawn from a range of disciplines.