Contemporary Evolutionary Theories of Culture and the Study of Religion

Radek Kundt is Assistant Professor in the Department for the Study of Religions, Masaryk University, Czech Republic, where he also acts as Director of LEVYNA – Laboratory for the Experimental Research of Religion.

• PrefaceIntroductionPart 1: Classical Cultural Evolutionism1. Classical Cultural Evolutionism and the Origins of Religious Studies2. Critique of Classical Cultural EvolutionismPart 2: Contemporary Cultural Evolutionism3. Group Selection AccountsGroup Selection Accounts in Religious StudiesCritical analysis of group selection accounts4. Dual Inheritance AccountsDual inheritance accounts in Religious StudiesCritical analysis of dual inheritance accounts5. Memetic AccountsMemetic accounts in Religious StudiesCritical analysis of memetic accountsPart 3: Evolution Without Cultural Evolution6. The Evolutionary Study of Culture Without Cultural Evolution7. An Evolution-Without-Cultural-Evolution Approach in Religious StudiesConclusionBibliographyIndex

In this erudite work Radek Kundt expertly guides us through the thickets of evolutionary theory as this is applied to cultural forms in general and religious behavior in particular. His critical analyses are accurate and compelling, his descriptions of the various approaches instructive, and his suggestions productive. We are all in his debt.