The Limbic system interweaves emotions with thoughts. Myth-Making Neanderthals were the first to bury their dead with ceremonies and make crude alters which is evidence of their religious behavior. Biologically we are driven to make sense of the world, so myths are made. The word myth used by scholars does not mean a story is untrue. The power of myths is not its literal interpretation, but its universal symbols.
Myths help alleviate our existential fears in a dangerous world like death and suffering.
Myths focus on a crucial existential concern, then frame it into irreconcilable opposites, and finally reconcile those opposites often with spiritual powers. I disagree with the authors that mystical experiences are at the base of these myths. For example, I think that death and resurrection were seen in nature with the changing seasons, in the circling stars, and in planting seeds, and not because of some mystical experience. Ritual Research reveals that repetitive rhythmic stimulation can drive the limbic and autonomic systems causing altered states of the mind like the transcendence of self. Uplifting congregational music can cause a mild degree of transcendence.