Azim explores the tension between naturalistic explanations of religion and divine inspiration, highlighting the pushback he receives from both the faithful and skeptics. He argues that the evolution of religions can be understood through the lens of Darwinian natural selection, suggesting that they emerged as solutions to societal challenges related to trust and cooperation in increasingly large groups. The concept of a punitive God, he posits, arose as a necessary mechanism to enforce social norms in these expansive communities.
