I'm not sure I can summarize such a global theory in a comment, but basically, he started from a simple truth : the mimetic nature of humans. You want what you want, not because of the intrinsic qualities of objects, but because you're imitating others. Inevitably, this leads to rivalry and conflict. Animals deal with this violence with what we call dominance patterns : the loser will very often yield to the now dominant animal, and the entire society will be ruled with complex hierarchies based on this. However, humans are too mimetic to be able to end violence like that. In our species, unrestricted violence ends in death. It can then rapidly spread across the community and bring chaos. The way primitive humans have dealt with this conflict is to turn the blame on someone else, the scapegoat, which suddenly turns into a primitive sacred being. At first, he is seen as an evil being responsible for all the chaos. Then, after being sacrificed, he is seen as the ultimate savior of the community. You now have the mechanism creating primitive religions.
English isn't my native language, I hope I've been clear enough so that you can imagine the enormous consequences of such a ground-breaking theory on every aspect of human life. I suggest reading the books.
English isn't my native language, I hope I've been clear enough so that you can imagine the enormous consequences of such a ground-breaking theory on every aspect of human life. I suggest reading the books.