Is organised religion considered to be an evolutionary development?
Most people like to think of organised religion as being “special”, inspired by some transcendent spiritual awareness or experience rather than by any evolutionary process. However, many biologists have explored the ways in which social organisation in general and moral imperatives specifically are rooted in our evolutionary history, and there are some intriguing ideas out there. For speculation about the earliest roots of a formal morality, see my answer at http://www.answerbag.com/a_view.php/32303. However, far beyond this, it has been well-mapped by anthropologists and archaeologists that as societies became larger, social stratification increases, people are able to acquire specialised roles, and societies develop both a “priesthood” and a “nobility” who do not have to work to feed themselves, but are fed by others in return for providing organisation and direction. This can be regarded as part of cultural evolution, rather than biological evolution. There is undoubtedly more infor
