By Farzad Roohi

Why did Neanderthals, our close evolutionary cousins, go extinct around 25,000 years ago? In other words, why didn’t they make it to where we are now, 21^st Century? This is a good question whose answer may save humanity for centuries to come. Why and how?

It is difficult and complicated to hypothesize that Neanderthals went extinct because they were not able to invent God and religion. God and religion could offer an elevated sense of universal altruism among the individuals for the survival of the species. A sense of universal altruism can be a remarkable evolutionary tool for the survival of an intelligent species during famine, biological scarcity and social adversity. Obviously, Neanderthals needed to invent language first, before they were able to come up with some ideas such as God and religion. Modern Paeleoanthropology hypothesizes the social status of the Neanderthals as intelligent species with a great deal of ritual and spirituality who lived in social groups in caves. Fatefully, Neanderthals did not invent language.

Neanderthals had a great sense of respect and high regard for their sick and elders. This was due to the fact that they believed in spirits and souls and perhaps consequent fear from being haunted and disturbed by angry and furious souls, ghosts, who were ignored while they were alive. Neanderthals, possibly, believed that the spirit of a dead person would stay in the same cave where he or she once lived. Also, they possibly believed that spirits and souls could influence the lives of those who were alive; this could either hinder or harm them. Thus, there was the possibility of being haunted by spirits who were mad and angry with those who were living in the same cave where the dead once lived.

The fear of being hunted by discontented souls would create a sense of local cave altruism in which the healthy ones would look after those who were injured, ill, old, or disabled. All in all, the Neanderthals who were in the same cave would unify in life after death via their souls. It is possible to consider that this was a common belief among Neanderthals which helped the survival of the species locally, within a cave .

This sense of local altruism would stay within the boundary of a cave since spirits would stay inside the same cave. That is perhaps why the inhabitants of a cave cared less for the inhabitants of the other caves in the region. This would cause a problem for the survival of the species in grand scale when there were famine and other natural catastrophes in which a great sense of universal altruism were needed in order to help those who were in need and were living in different caves. Perhaps, we can conclude that, Neanderthals went extinct because they did not create a sense of universal altruism among their species.

How about us, the Homo sapiens? Well, we know that Homo sapiens, the wise man, invented language thousands of years ago and as a byproduct of their language, God and religion were invented and formulated about five thousand years ago. The idea of God and formation of an organized religion did create a sense of universal altruism indeed, which came very useful and practical for the survival of the species during famine, biological scarcity and natural calamities. How so?

A universal and organized religion would demand and command its followers to practice equality and brotherhood anywhere around the world as it has been preached and moralized in Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Therefore, during any famine and other natural disasters, people would share food and shelter and help each other. This act, irrefutably, would support the survival of the species on the whole. That is why North American Jewish communities support the Jewish Israelis and North American Muslim communities support the Muslim Palestinians. In any case, evolution is the mastermind of the survival of the species via any possible way including the invention of God and religion.

The idea of God and religion helped us to survive the biological catastrophes thousands of years ago simply because we were ignorant of our world and the universe. This was the time when we had no control on our environment and ourselves; this was when there were no science and modern technology to help us conquest our environment and consequently our destiny. The design of God and religion came to rescue Homo sapiens when there was no genetic engineering which could enhance agriculture to mass produce food for the entire population. This divine-rescue was practical when there was no industrial revolution to revolutionize our ability to produce goods and provisions for everybody. The idea of God helped mankind to share among themselves the very basic biological necessities such as food and shelter during famine, and other natural catastrophes up until the great Renaissance in Europe. The scheme of God and religion was useful when there was not enough food for every body and there were no weapons of mass destruction.

What about after Renaissance? What about after the Industrial Revolution? How about after the birth of the Information Age? How about after the dawn of space era? Do still Homo sapiens need God and religion in 21^st Century knowing that there is enough food for every body and there are many weapons of mass destruction?

I would argue that not only is not there a need for God and religion but also the idea of God and religion could bring Homo sapiens to extinction in 21^st Century. But how?

Imagine the power of martyrdom in Islam! Imagine how easy is for a suicide bomber to press a button to put an end to his or her life and the lives of the infidels, the rest of Homo sapiens. And imagine that these suicide bombers have access to nuclear bombs. After all, according to the Islamic doctrine, the whole notion of TIME starts after death and this life, life on Earth, is just a bridge to the eternal life. And of course, the shorter the bridge is, the faster, one can reach the eternal life. Dangerous stuff! Isn’t it?

It is difficult to hypothesize that Neanderthals became extinct because they were not able to invent God and religion. But it is easy to hypothesize that Homo sapiens will go extinct because they won’t let God and religion go. I am convinced that if Homo sapiens do not let God and religion go forever and for good, our species will come to an end as Homo neanderthalensis went extinct because possibly they, on the contrary, did not invent God and religion. Don’t you think that natural life history of Homo neanderthalensis is a good lesson for the survival of Homo sapiens sapiens, the wise man? Unfortunately, the only thing that Homo sapiens sapiens learn from history is that they never learn anything from his story or her story.

I may accept the idea that religion helped us, as a species, to survive thousands of years ago when we were in an absolute darkness of understanding our universe and life in general. However, we now live in the 21st century where we know how the universe came into existence. We live in an era where we can trace back our species' origins to see how one species of hominids went extinct after another. All I am left, with my reasoning to conclude, is that if Homo sapiens do not let God and religion go forever and for good, we may see the end of another chapter of natural history, in which another hominid is going to become extinct.