Re: Fear, shame, and guilt

I would suggest that fear, shame, and guilt are feelings learned in our evolution somewhere along the line as a means of discouraging behavior that interferes with the cooperation of a small group working together for survival.

These emotions are dependent upon being learned to a large extent -- in other words, they are meaningless unless the social context gives them one.

Religion, at one point, was just another tool that was used to foster some form of cooperation among a group of people. It's no longer needed, but survives vestigially in society.