Do Chimps Believe In God?

I have spent a lot of time wondering why religion exists… why we seem to need to worship something.

It seems to be rooted firmly – right in our very genes. And in the very genes of our ancestors, the creatures we evolved from and now we discover that we may not be alone in feeling this apparently hard-wired primordial need.

I think it’s absolutely fascinating.

Read the full article:
Mysterious chimpanzee behaviour could be ‘sacred rituals’ and show that chimps believe in god

The ritual has similarities with the building of shrines or cairns, a human ritual that has been happening for thousands of years and across civilisations

Andrew Griffin @_andrew_griffin Friday 4 March 2016140 comments

New footage shows chimpanzees engaging in bizarre behaviour — which might be a form of sacred ritual that could show the beginnings of a kind of religious belief.

Chimpanzees in West Africa have been spotted banging and throwing rocks against trees and throwing them into gaps inside, leading to piles of rocks. Those rocks do not appear to be for any functional purpose — and might be an example of an early version of ritual behaviour.

The discovery might help researchers learn more about the basis of human religion and rituals, and how such activities formed in our own history.

The scientist described seeing the behaviour through cameras that were set up to watch the chimpanzees. They saw them assembling piles of stones — of a similar kind of the ritual cairns that have been found throughout human history.

There’s more, click that link… 🙂

Nice little discussion going on here, too.

I think it all seems very telling. Kind of brings thoughts of us closer to the “animal level” that many like to avoid, but, hey, that’s what we are, now more than ever.

And I am not one to think that that is any kind of bad thing.