#paperback#Gods#religion#Einstein#philosophy#homersmith#darwin#Huxley#biology#history Man and His Gods is a 400 page tome. He traces the evolution of religion from pre-historical times to the twentieth century. The information is presented in very scientific way citing archaeological, historical, linguistic and anthropological evidence. His style is straightforward. A contradiction of the usual teaching of the major religions that are based upon what they claim is divinely inspired scripture or the words of prophets. Although Smith doesn't come right out and say he's an atheist the evidence he presents certainly supports the idea that theistic religion is a product of a sort of psychological and cultural evolution. His theory is basically that as man became a social animal religion evolved as a mechanism that provided a cohesiveness between individuals beyond immediate family. Man has always sought to explain nature and the idea of a "prime mover" is embedded in the human psyche. Rather than positing some faceless force the mover is anthropomorphic in almost every society from prehistoric to the twentieth century. Smith gives his answer to the question: Did "God" create man or did Man create "God"?