Date of Award
Summer 8-23-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D. in Religious Studies
Organizational Unit
Joint Ph.D. Program in Study of Religion, Religious Studies
First Advisor
Ted Vial
Second Advisor
Danny McIntosh
Third Advisor
Dean Saitta
Fourth Advisor
Adam Rovner
Fifth Advisor
Alison Schofield
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Cognitive science of religion, Complex adaptive systems, Evolution of religion, Evolutionary psychology, Reform Judaism
Abstract
This project examines the domain of religion through the lens of evolutionary theory, making the argument that the human tendency toward religiosity is an evolved suite of social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral adaptations. It develops a definition of the category ‘religion’ derived from these evolutionary theories, particularly complex adaptive systems theory, and by so doing problematizes both the historical centering of 'belief in God' within religious studies and the theoretical emphasis placed on the credibility of supernatural agents within cognitive science of religion.
In research design, it takes as a case study the practice of modern American Reform Judaism because the tradition’s lack of a requirement for strict theistic belief, its tensive relationships among Jewish religion, culture, and ethnicity, and its minority status within a pluralistic national context all render it ideal for complicating dominant perspectives on religion. Using four mixed-method data sources all collected during a period of participant-observation fieldwork at a Reform synagogue, the project synthesizes findings from semi-structured interviews, an unrestricted pile sort task, a triad block task, and a story recall task to theorize how ancient evolutionary pressures could still be influencing the modern human tendency to be religious. It examines the roles of cognition and belief, of moral emotions, and of ritual, embodiment, and the signalling of group commitment in the studied case.
The three main conclusions drawn concern a lessened emphasis on theistic belief to better balance between the other elements of religion as a complex adaptive system, the distinction between morality and ethics found in ethical versus customary halacha, and the tensions of maintaining a minority group identity in various local and global contexts. Together, these themes suggest that modern American Reform Judaism is both a bad example of religion from an academic-historical sense and a great example of religion from an evolutionary-adaptive one. Therefore, this dissertation both acts as a corrective critique to the formation of the category 'religion' itself, as well as applies, expands, and re-orients evolutionary perspectives on religion via a focus on Judaism.
Copyright Date
8-2025
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Elyse Pierce
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
376 pgs
File Size
1.9 MB
Recommended Citation
Pierce, Elyse, "‘Ha-’adam ’afar min ha-’adamah’: Human Religious Systems As Evolutionary Ecological Responses As Expressed in American Reform Judaism" (2025). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2647.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2647
Included in
Cognitive Psychology Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Social Psychology Commons