In a species with tremendous cultural diversity, the capacity for religion tops the list of species-specific core human universals. Yet religion is likely not an evolutionary adaptation, but a recurring by-product of the complex evolutionary landscape that sets material conditions for ordinary human life. This means that religious cognition is the product of cultural transmission constrained by evolutionary psychology. There is universality of 1) belief in supernatural agents who 2) relieve existential anxieties such as death and deception but 3) demand passionate costly commitment which are 4) validated through emotional ritual. The cognitive and emotional repertoire of religion is discussed along with cross-cultural and experimental evidence to examine the causes and consequences of religious belief.