Fundamental phylogenic approaches in evolutionary psychology of religion

In this study, scientific approaches that emerged as a result of examining religious thought and behavior patterns from an evolutionary psychological perspective are examined. In the study, first of all, the theoretical and methodological foundations of evolutionary psychology are detailed. The primary goal of these chapters is to emphasize the difference between the evolutionary psychological approach and other behavioral scientific approaches. Evolutionary psychology which is theoretically based on evolutionary biology, examining the actions and cognitive processes of organisms through the lens of fitness, is observed that affected not only the scientific community through its different interpretations it brings to different subjects of psychology in its disciplinization process; but also the populations with high digital media literacy, especially the Z generation's folk-psychological interpretation of human relations processes. Based on the importance of the subject; the core resources of the field were gathered, and the evolutionary psychological method was systematically reviewed. The second part of the study is built on the theoretical framework of the first part. The evolutionary psychological literature has been analyzed in the context of religion. The evolutionary psychology of religion, which has become one of the dominant approaches among modern psychology of religion approaches; is the scientific discipline in which religious thought and behavior patterns are examined in the context of evolutionary psychological methodology, considering the parameters of fitness. After the general information about the discipline was presented to the reader, the basic approaches within the field were detailed. These approaches are; adaptationism and spandrelism. According to the adaptationist view; religious thought and behavior have evolved as unique modules and have adaptive implications for Homo sapiens. For this reason, there is a high probability of transmission to the next generations, both genetically and memetically. According to the spandrelist perspective; religious thought and behavior are not modules in themselves, they have emerged as a by-product of different adaptive modules and can show adaptive or maladaptive features in different environmental conditions. In the study, the approaches were explained by enriching with examples, and the study was concluded by referring to the methodological solutions that should be applied in the light of the modern reflections of the phylogenetic historical projection.