The Limitations of the Cognitive Sciences of Religion in Explaining the Natural Process of the Formation and Strengthening of Religious Beliefs

The cognitive science of religion is a "scientific" approach to the study of religion, which seeks to provide the causal explanations for religious beliefs and behaviors. The defenders of the cognitive sciences of religion attempt to explain the process of formation, strengthening, and prevalence of religious beliefs with the help of natural features of human mind and explaining its mode of operation. In their view, human mental tools have developed in such a way that they, in a particular way, are supportive of the concept of "God" (and other basic concepts of religion). These mental tools have significant processing inclinations in accepting religious beliefs, ultimately leading to their formation, strengthening, and promotion. Thus, this study was conducted to explain the natural process of the formation and strengthening of religious beliefs within the perspective of the cognitive sciences of religion, extracting the explanatory limitations of this approach. The findings of the present study showed that the cognitive sciences of religion face two basic explanatory constraints: The first type results from the lack of attention to the supernatural and social dimensions of religious phenomena, and the second type is due to the explanatory limitations of cognitive mechanisms.