Natural Selection and Religiosity

If religion turns out to be a trait that makes you fit to survive, will evolutionists welcome religionists? Oh, never mind. But Suzanne Fields has an interesting column on David Sloan Wilson, a biologist and anthropologist, who, apparently, said something similar:

"David Sloan Wilson, a professor of biology and anthropology at Binghamton University in New York state, argues that 'religiosity' fosters group discipline and could have given our hunter-gatherer ancestors an advantage for survival as they grouped together for worship. This helped them defend against predators at the waterhole, where they became prey on the savannah. Those who survived passed on their genes, increasing the survival of the fittest unto the next generation. Thus 'religiosity' became a 'useful' genetic trait.

"His thesis, as set forth in his book 'Darwin's Cathedral,' raises provocative and controversial ideas. The ancient cave drawings and paintings have often been interpreted as Cro-Magnon churches for ceremonies replete with icons of religious inspiration, but these interpretations have been based solely on speculation. The Wilson argument rests on a Darwinian analysis of what contributes to evolution. Darwin wrote that tribes with a high degree of fidelity, obedience, courage and sympathy, always prepared to sacrifice themselves for the common good, would triumph over other tribes and thus be more likely to survive. This view perceives society as a single organism; since religious men and women historically aim to encourage such traits within their community, Mr. Wilson believes they were favored by natural selection. He draws on examples as diverse as Calvinism in Geneva and water temples in Bali."