Religion as an illusion - The Primal Hordes

Question 1

What is the primal horde theory based on?

Answer 1

Darwin’s conjecture that humans had originally lived in small hordes.

Question 2

What were hordes dominated by?

Answer 2

Each one was dominated by an alpha male who had sexual relations with all the women in the group and fought off any men who attempted to take what ‘belonged’ to him.

Question 3

What do the rest of the men in the horde do to the alpha male?

Answer 3

Kill the powerful alpha male

Question 4

How do the men in the horde respond to their killing of the alpha male?

Answer 4

Become overwhelmed with the guilt of killing an alpha male and put a totem in the place of the alpha male.

Question 5

What are the 2 rules the men made?

Answer 5

1. no one should kill the totem

2. no one can commit incest

Question 6

What is Animism?

Answer 6

The process of transferring immense guilt onto a totem.

Question 7

What happened to totems eventually?

Answer 7

They become unsatisfactory and evolved into gods. Therefore this is seen as the origin of the illusion of gods