Scholars of religion and social science consider religion as an expression of cognitive mechanisms that are both biological and social, and that reveal themselves through culture. They examine the formative effect that various kinds of cultural knowledge--in narratives, classificatory systems, rituals, institutions, and everyday practice--may have on how minds are made and how they work. They cover theoretical perspectives, level of explanatory interpretation, and cognitive approaches to the study of religious narratives. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)