The more self-aware an animal is, the more empathetic it tends to be.

I was raised Catholic. Not just a little bit Catholic, like my wife, Catherine. When she was young, many Catholics in France already barely went to church, except for the big three: baptism, marriage, and funeral. And only the middle one was by choice.

Religions have a strong binding function and a cohesive element. They emphasize the primacy of the community as opposed to the individual, and they also help set one community apart from another that doesn't share their beliefs.

Armies are a purely human invention. Most soldiers who go to war nowadays don't even do it because they're inherently aggressive.

Future benefits rarely figure in the minds of animals.

There is little evidence that other animals judge the appropriateness of actions that do not directly affect themselves.

Why not assume that our humanity, including the self-control needed for livable societies, is built into us? Does anyone truly believe that our ancestors lacked social norms before they had religion? Did they never assist others in need, or complain about an unfair deal? Humans must have worried about the functioning of their communities well before the current religions arose, which is only a few thousand years ago.