Anthropologists have yet to find a society that does not  have religious belief, so obviously religion must do something for  humans, but what?  Humans have a great capacity for a wide range of behaviors, including moral behaviors, but where do these come from, and  why do we have them?  Humans have many ways that they have devised to  rule over their populations, including ones based on religion and those  based on more secular ideals; is there a difference between them? Are theocracies more moral and just than secular democracies?

There’s  a long-standing axiom that science really has nothing to say about  topics such as religion and morality.  However, the opposite is true.   Science has a lot to say on these topics.  Anthropology is especially  well situated to look at these topics with its holistic and  cross-cultural  view. I will look at what anthropology, and the other social sciences, have to say about these topics.