The God Delusion

Religion did not develop as a consequence of man's need or desire to understand the world and his own existence. Religion does not spring naturally from the normal workings of the human mind. Religion originated because of fear. Our human ancestors lived in constant fear of the unknown, but their greatest fear was death. They couldn't accept this fact and sought for an alternative, creating the myth that dying was a passage into another life, and this is how religion originated. They sought to find in religion a relief from their fear, and religion was thus created as a result of panic. Our human ancestors lived in constant fear from the threat of the hostile environment and had to face many fearful and difficult situations. They formed ritualistic groups that involved rhythmic dancing, and the ingestion of psychotropic substances that produced ecstatic emotional states. The ecstatic state was felt as the highest heavenly connection, and their fear of death was replaced by happiness, serenity, and a dazzling light. The experience was felt as an awakening to a world where all things exist in complete unity and as a deep sense of union with God. However, their seizures of ecstasy altered their brain structure, leading to the evolution of a defective brain. This brain defect was then passed on to the succeeding generations, and became a genetic abnormality among all people of religious faith. Therefore, religion contributed to the degeneration in the evolution of the human race, allowing the most brutal and intellectually inferior to survive in greater numbers.