Book Review

摘要

Why do people participate in religious organizations and rituals? From whence did our predilection for religious practices stem? Does participation in religious activities benefit individuals and groups? To believers-whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or member of some other religious group-the answers to these questions are relatively straightforward. People participate because God or some other supernatural deity requires it; they benefit because the cosmic order demands it. To the unbeliever or impartial and outside observer, answers to these questions are not so simple. Various academic disciplines have pursued these questions for at least 200 years.