Quote:
Originally Posted by
likeitaloud 
This is another natural instinct, animals travel in packs not because they are "morally" inclined for the strong to protect the weak but they know that numbers make them stronger.
Following this logic saving a friend or a partner will protect you in the future. It is a natural behaviour that many animals would never survive without. If elephants did not help each other defend against predators they would be extinct by now because 1 on 1 (especially children and females) they are not fit to fight off fast, carnivorous predators.
If you actually read the link I included, you will see that the chimps involved helped unrelated humans and conspecifics. If this is simply based on instinct and is a natural behavior, I propose the same is true with humans. After all, chimps are closely related to us which makes looking at their behaviors particularly relevant. I believe religions (not just Abrahamic religion) likely reinforce some of these behaviors in humans, but I believe that altruistic behavior came first, NOT religion. Religion also carries a lot of other not-so-good baggage with it; it pits US against THEM. I believe that is also part of the reason for the existence of religion in the first place; it creates a type of tribal unity.