>Perhaps you are referring to my defense of religion (all religion)
>when
>people all but call it the product ignorance and imagination. I have
>only said that it works as a social and cultural organizer as well.
>
>If there wasn't a need for memes like that, how do you explain the
>behaviour of gazillions of people who organize their lives around
>*some*
>kind of spiritual focus---
The religious memes definitely need the people. It doesn't follow that
the people need the memes. The utility of religious memes to their hosts
is an open question. I know some people in our little community are of
the opinion that people would be far better off if they could free
themselves from complexes of religious memes. Wade seems to be the more
committed to this position, but I share it to some degree.
How would I explain the behavior of gazillions of people who organize
their lives around *some* kind of spiritual focus? From a memetic
perspective. Memes have "discovered" that they can exploit the
meme-sustaining capacity of brains more effectively when they attach
themselves to memes that appeal to the human need for completeness and
security.
-KMO