The Religion Virus

The idea of applying the concept of a virus or meme to religion has become fashionable, and this book is an erudite exposition of the thesis, tracing the development of religion from an early stage. Seen through the lens of natural selection, religions can only survive if they are fitted to their environment, in this case the human mind. The author considers many of these memes to be illusory, such as the idea of a loving Father God, but they may be closer to reality than he thinks. The fittest religions may not in fact be the most advanced since many people, including some atheists, do not have a sophisticated approach and are at the early stages of Fowler's stages of faith. An interesting aspect of the book is the way in which certain memes complement each other, both in biology and religion. The goal of the book is to provoke a paradigm shift in the reader's thinking about religion and to help people ask questions instead of accepting dogmas - one must just remember that there are scientific dogmas as well.