It's Only Natural

For the past 40,000 years, humans have worshipped myriad gods and goddesses that everyone now recognizes were imaginary; why is that?

In It’s Only Natural, Neil McNamara traces the unfolding cosmos from the Big Bang to the emergence of complex life and the origins of humanity, highlighting our obsession with gods. As he ably demonstrates, God was completely absent from human consciousness for more than 99 percent of the nearly three million years of human existence. Why, then, McNamara asks, are most of the people alive today firmly convinced that a divine being not only created the universe, but that he did so specifically to establish a home for us?

Through detailed analysis of existing research, McNamara argues that we are genetically predisposed to believe in the supernatural. Our basic nature is such, he suggests, that we are likely to absorb the specific beliefs and practices of the community we’re born into and pass them on to subsequent generations. But is that really the smartest approach?

With respect for the beliefs of all, It's Only Natural challenges the concept of human exceptionalism, explaining the biological and cultural origins of theistic beliefs. From that starting point, McNamara encourages listeners to embrace science as the foundation for comprehending our world and our place within it.