The sense of supernatural agency constitutes a defining characteristic of the religious sphere of life. But what accounts for the continued cross-cultural recurrence of this psychological phenomenon over the course of human history? This paper reviews evidence indicating that the source of panhuman or universal cognitive patterns of thought and behaviour such as this lies in the common characteristics of the evolved human mind. Further, that the sense of the supernatural is constituted by a unique combination of commonly recurring cognitive processes that together give rise to a panhuman conviction in the reality of supernatural agencies able and (when minded) willing to assist each individual in situations deemed beyond the capacities of that individual. These cognitive processes are driven most acutely by existential anxiety in response to extrinsic physical, economic and social pressures indicating that religiosity is best understood as a social-psychological phenomenon.

超自然力量的感觉构成了宗教生活领域的一个决定性特征。但是，是什么解释了这种心理现象在人类历史进程中持续跨文化复发的原因呢？本文回顾了一些证据，这些证据表明，诸如此类的泛人类或普遍认知模式的根源在于进化的人类思维的共同特征。此外，超自然的感觉是由普遍反复出现的认知过程的独特组合构成的，这些认知过程共同引起了对超自然机构现实的全人类信念，能够并且（当有意识时）愿意在被认为超出能力的情况下帮助每个人那个人的。