The Naturalness of Religious Belief and the Non‑Default Status of Atheism: Anthropological, Cognitive, and Historical Evidence

Abstract

Claims that human beings are “born atheists” and that religious belief only arises through indoctrination or cultural conditioning have gained traction in some secular discourse. This report revisits this claim by synthesizing anthropological, cognitive, historical, and sociological evidence. Drawing on classic anthropological theories (Tylor, Frazer, Durkheim) and contemporary critiques (Leach, Fabian, Munn, Bloch, Greenhouse), we first demonstrate that religion is a universal human phenomenon and that notions of sacred time and ritual cycles pervade diverse societies. We then examine research in cognitive science of religion, particularly studies by Justin Barrett, Pascal Boyer, Deborah Kelemen, and Elisa Jarnefelt, which show that children and even many non‑religious adults spontaneously attribute purpose, agency, and supernatural qualities to the world. International research projects at Oxford University conclude that impulses toward religion are part of our basic cognitive architecture and that atheism is a sophisticated response rather than a default state. Finally, we review historical patterns showing that religious ideas and practices persist across epochs and cultures, while sustained atheism emerges only under specific social and intellectual conditions. Together, these lines of evidence refute the claim that atheism is the natural human baseline; instead, they suggest that humans are predisposed to religious belief, and that secularization or disbelief requires deliberate cultural and intellectual work.

Keywords: Atheism as Default; Anthropology of Religion; Cognitive Science of Religion; Born Believers; Religious Universality; Teleological Thinking; Agency Detection; Secularization; Revitalization Movements.