See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: [Link]

net/publication/233082275

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.

Article in International Journal for the Psychology of Religion · April 2007

DOI: 10.1080/10508610701244296

CITATIONS READS
3 2,839

1 author:

Rolf Nelson
Wheaton College (MA)
22 PUBLICATIONS 385 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

German-to-English translation of classic psych studies View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Rolf Nelson on 28 May 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

This article was downloaded by: [Wheaton College]
On: 04 April 2013, At: 07:22
Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House,
37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

International Journal for the Psychology of Religion

Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:
[Link]

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.

a
Rolf A. Nelson
a
Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts
Version of record first published: 05 Dec 2007.

To cite this article: Rolf A. Nelson (2007): Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon., International Journal for
the Psychology of Religion, 17:2, 183-185

To link to this article: [Link]

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: [Link]

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic
reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to
anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents
will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should
be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims,
proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in
connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR THE PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION, 17(2), 183–185
Copyright © 2007, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

REVIEW

Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. By Daniel C. Dennett.

Downloaded by [Wheaton College] at 07:22 04 April 2013

New York: Viking, 2006. xvi + 448 pp., $25.95 cloth.

Reviewed by Rolf A. Nelson

Wheaton College
Norton, Massachusetts

Daniel Dennett has never been one to shy away from big topics in philoso-
phy. He is perhaps best known for his 1991 classic Consciousness Explained,
a controversial book that lies at the center of—and to some extent, drove—
the resurging interest in consciousness, making it once again a topic worthy of
study. Although few think that, as the title suggests, the problem of conscious-
ness had been resolved—in fact, it is widely held that Dennett doesn’t believe
that consciousness exists—he nonetheless has generated an enormous amount
of gravitational pull in philosophical circles toward his way of thinking. Den-
nett’s next major book, aimed toward an increasingly wide lay audience, was
Darwin’s Dangerous Idea. This lucid discussion of evolutionary theory takes
into account a wide variety of scientific thought, and there is a religious im-
plication throughout: Darwin’s theory, says Dennett, acts like a universal acid,
dissolving a host of traditional ideas—including, notably, religious ones—about
our origins, values, and behavior.
All this to provide a backdrop for Dennett’s latest book, Breaking the Spell:
Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. In this work, Dennett continues down the
path he laid out in previous books, this time taking on the topic of religion
directly. He makes clear his personal beliefs on the matter, a candor that should
not surprise us by now. He is a die-hard atheist who considers belief in a god
to be intrinsically irrational. His questions about religion stem mainly from a
naturalistic position of puzzlement as to why religion exists at all. Why a belief in
God? Why the underlying “belief in belief” that supports this conviction? Viewed
with a wide lens, has religion done more good than harm, or more harm than
good? Does religious belief provide an evolutionary advantage to the believer?

183
 184 NELSON

Or does the belief work solely for its own advantage, as a culturally transmitted
meme, according to which the best sort of beliefs propagate themselves among
the minds of the world and the worst die out?
The central form of explanation that Dennett espouses is drawn from evo-
lutionary psychology. As animals evolved, developing increasingly complex
nervous systems, there came a point at which there was a distinct advantage
to understanding the motivations of other creatures around them. This “good
trick,” important for both predators and prey, became more advanced over
time. It emerged especially among social creatures like homo sapiens, who
found themselves in groups with complex social hierarchies and dependent on
each other for survival. The best way to get around in such a complex world,
Dennett proposes, is to adopt the strategy of taking the intentional stance—
Downloaded by [Wheaton College] at 07:22 04 April 2013

that is, to treat systems “as if” they are genuinely intentional. This viewpoint
is not new here, but is one that Dennett has developed extensively in other
writings.
From there it doesn’t take long to see where Dennett’s going. If we have
a built-in mechanism that treats other systems as if they have goals, motiva-
tions, and other thought processes, and if this mechanism is widely used—for
example, treating fruit flies, computers, and cars as if they have complex in-
tentional agendas—then this widely useful mechanism might have the side ef-
fect of disposing us to see agency in places of the world where there is none.
Dennett views this psychological tendency as the seed for the beginnings of
religion. Religion emerges from a type of animism—seeing agency and gods
everywhere in the world—and through a long process of cultural transformation,
this disposition is formulated into the more sophisticated religious traditions that
exist today.
Dennett devotes a good portion of the book to defending his own intention
to investigate religion from a naturalistic point of view. He underscores the
importance of the undertaking and he argues that persons with open minds
about their faith should have nothing to fear. He genuinely wants the book to be
read by a wide audience, presumably including those who are religious believers
struggling with the seemingly unbridgeable divide between science and religion.
Of course, Dennett does not come into the fray as a nonpartisan. He is convinced
that religious belief, at least in its basic forms, is a categorical mistake, one that,
once examined, will be found wanting.
Accordingly, this book has a place in the current debate between evolution
and intelligent design. The controversy, as framed by proponents of intelligent
design, is that we and the rest of the world were either formed by forces of
evolution—a position they consider insupportable—or by an intelligent designer.
Dennett argues two points here. First, evolution offers a perfectly adequate
explanation, and it is certainly the most widely accepted in scientific circles;
 REVIEW 185

there is no need for an intelligent designer. Second, evolution is in fact the more
encompassing perspective, so much so that it can help us to understand the rise
of religion.
As in his other major works, Dennett does not truly finish off the problem,
despite the confidence with which he attacks it. Nevertheless, in Breaking the
Spell, he has assembled an impressive set of arguments, building on his past
work and on the work of others in the cognitive sciences. At the same time, he
articulates these arguments in a lucid and engaging manner, likely increasing
the book’s appeal to a general audience. But it is also one that should interest
psychologists of religion.
Downloaded by [Wheaton College] at 07:22 04 April 2013

View publication stats