Abstract
The evolution of religions is an explanation for the clearly hierarchical system of religions, in which some are more closely related than others. What we see today is in fact a hierarchic-encaptic system of similarities between religions – religions can be divided into groups on account of their similarities. If we take these groups and organise them chronologically, we recognise a tree of life for the system of religions, which represents their relationship. This relationship has to be mirrored in a systematics of religion desideratum. This tree of life can now be explained by the fact that the vast number of known historical and extant religions ultimately all stem from the one, or from a very few, principle form(s) – which remain to be discovered. With the help of an evolutionary approach, the fossil traces of extinct religions can be reconstructed and the question of an origin of religions can be answered.
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Notes
- 1.
Judah’s henotheism had transformed into both Second-Temple Judaism and the Samaritan religion, which we have not discussed for lack of space. See Hjelm 2004 the Samaritans, their relationship to Judaism, and trends in research.
- 2.
For the importance of heterozygosity, see Dobzhansky 1953, pp. 108–134.
- 3.
“ein Wissen ansehen, das von Jesus selbst geoffenbart (mitgeteilt) worden war und andeutungsweise oder ausdrücklich im Gedankengut des frühen Christentums (vornehmlich der Bibel) enthalten ist. […] Von daher braucht es nicht zu verwundern, daß inzwischen Vorstellungen und Aussagen ans Licht gekommen sind, die vorher im Dunkeln lagen, so daß der historische Entwicklungsprozeß als ‚erhellend‘angesehen und als ‚Klärungsprozeß‘verstanden werden kann.” Antes 1985, p.29.
- 4.
Alevites: www.bing.com/search?q=aleviten+wikipedia&form=PRLSSR&mkt=de-de&httpsmsn=1&refig=af7cb9d500ab431e9c059c46cf785385&sp=2&qs=AS&pq=aleviten&sk=AS1&sc=8-8&cvid=af7cb9d500ab431e9c059c46cf785385, retrieved on 26.11.2017. Translation: author’s own.
- 5.
See critically, Wunn and Grojnowski 2016, pp.109–113.
- 6.
However, modern Judaism understands itself as the natural continuation of Second-Temple Judaism, i.e. as the same religion. According to our definition, therefore, of the taxon religion, it thus belongs to one and the same taxon.
- 7.
Mordekhai Ben-Nisan’s Sefer Dod Mordekhai on the division of the House of Israel into two parts, [1699; first published in Vienna, 1830] republished in Ramle, Israel, 1966 by Ḥevrat Haṣlaḥah LiVnei Miqra’.
- 8.
The accompanying commentary however explains that the design not only refers back to genetic relationships but that a stage model had been placed at the origins of religion’s development – but again, there are no in-depth reflections.
https://www.facebook.com/HumanOdyssey/posts/881039088688342:0, retrieved on 28.11.2017.
- 9.
See also more extensively here our previous discussion in Wunn and Grojnowski 2016, pp.69–139.
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Wunn, I., Grojnowski, D. (2018). Genealogy Tree and Systematics. In: Religious Speciation. New Approaches to the Scientific Study of Religion , vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04435-0_12
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