During the last years, a new, biological perspective on religiosity, defined as behavior towards supernatural agents (like ancestors, angels, gods or God), has developed and improved tremendously. In interdisciplinary and international networks, scientists in the humanities, cultural, psychological, social and religious studies teamed with evolutionary biologists, geneticists, neurologists and anthropologists to explore the evolutionary, natural history of religion(s).

Dr. Michael Blume was born in 1976 in Filderstadt, Germany. He lectured Religious Studies at the universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, Leipzig and Jena. His promotional thesis focused on theories on religion in the brain sciences (the so-called "neurotheologies”). Dr. Blume then specialized on the reproductive potentials of religiosity - the complex workings of religious communities augmenting birth and survival rates (and thus: evolutionary success) of religious people in comparison to their (more) secular neighbours.

Together with biologist Rüdiger Vaas, Dr. Blume published “Gott, Gene und Gehirn. Warum Glauben nützt. Die Evolution der Religiosität” (Hirzel 2009). He was the first German to be invited into the directory of the Evolutionary Religious Studies. His science-blog “Natur des Glaubens” won the Scilog-Award 2009. In 2010, he was awarded the "Vermittlungen" (transl. Mediation)-Award of the Protestant Academy Villigst for his work between religion(s) and the natural sciences. He is the editor of the Religion-section at the Online-Magazine "Evolution - This View of Life" with David Sloan Wilson.

Dr. Blume is part of a Christian-Muslim family and a father of three.

Homepage:
http://www.blume-religionswissenschaft.de/english/index_english.html