Here is my take on the start of religion. People evolved to think in terms of intentions in other things, which is beneficial in dealing with other animals (including other humans). It is a way of "making sense" of what other people do that enables one to better predict their future actions. That has led to thinking in terms of intentions in other things as well, so that natural events are attributed to intentions in the same way that other humans' actions are attributed to intentions. From that, one gets spirits in things, and as the beliefs about those spirits become more sophisticated and abstract, one ends up with things more like modern religions. We can see some of this in the evolution of religion, in that polytheism predates monotheism, which is a more abstract version of the idea of things being guided by spirits.
I wish I could take credit for being the first person to think of such things, but this is not new with me.
I wish I could take credit for being the first person to think of such things, but this is not new with me.
"A wise man ... proportions his belief to the evidence."
— David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section X, Part I.
