Alpha God : The Psychology Of Religious Violenc...

World events in recent decades have stimulated the academic examination of religiously motivated violence. Although violence is not exclusive to religious contexts, violence and religion are undeniably intertwined. Religious texts, namely of the Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), explicitly encourage and justify violent behavior and the control of female sexuality. Indeed, religious beliefs may motivate and exacerbate violence (Sela et al. 2015). But, the question remains: What are the origins of God? And, why is He so unapologetically violent? In Alpha God: The Psychology of Religious Violence and Oppression, Hector Garcia (2015) implicates our evolved psychology as the culprit facilitating religiously motivated violence.

Alpha God : the psychology of religious violenc...

Garcia's groundbreaking book, Alpha God: The Psychology of Religious Violence and Oppression, reveals how human evolutionary history has left us prone to religiously inspired bloodshed. In particular, he explains how men's competition over evolutionary resources -- especially sexual primacy and territorial control -- has too often been projected onto notions of God, resulting in religious warfare, the oppression of women and ecological devastation. His regular blog on Psychology Today examines the evolutionary psychology of violence, politics, religion and our everyday lives. 041b061a72