{"title":"The Evolution of Religion and Morality project: some modest reservations","authors":"K. Sterelny","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021550","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021550","url":null,"abstract":"Causadias, J. M., Vitriol, J. A., & Atkin, A. L. (2018). Do we overemphasize the role of culture in the behavior of racial/ ethnic minorities? Evidence of a Cultural (mis)Attribution Bias in American Psychology. American Psychologist, 73 (3), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000099 Dahl, A. (2019). The science of early moral development: On defining, constructing, and studying morality from birth. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 59, 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.acdb.2018.11.001 Gauvain, M., & Perez, S. (2015). Cognitive development and culture. In L. S. Liben, U. Müller, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Cognitive processes (pp. 854–896). John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118963418.childpsy220 Lang, M., Purzycki, B. G., Apicella, C. L., Atkinson, Q. D., Bolyanatz, A., Cohen, E.,...Mathew, S. (2019). Moralizing gods, impartiality and religious parochialism across 15 societies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 286(1898), 20190202. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0202 Purzycki, B. G., Apicella, C., Atkinson, Q. D., Cohen, E., McNamara, R. A., Willard, A. K.,...Henrich, J. (2016). Moralistic gods, supernatural punishment and the expansion of human sociality. Nature, 530(7590), 327–330. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16980 Purzycki, B. G., Ross, C. T., Apicella, C., Atkinson, Q. D., Cohen, E., McNamara, R. A.,...Henrich, J. (2018). Material security, life history, and moralistic religions: A crosscultural examination. PLOS ONE, 13(3), e0193856. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193856","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83486905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Perceptions of moralizing agents and cooperative behavior in Northeastern Brazil","authors":"Montserrat Soler, B. Purzycki, M. Lang","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006285","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006285","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Evolutionary theories suggest that gods of world religions are associated with moralizing qualities and impartial behavior toward co-religionists, and that secular authorities approximate this effect. However, there is a lack of theorizing and experimental studies regarding the influence of local religions on inter-personal conduct. In the current research, we obtained data on beliefs regarding the moralizing qualities of the Christian god, a local god (Ogum), and police in a sample from Northeastern Brazil (n = 193). We used these beliefs as predictors of behavior in Dictator Games where players distributed endowed money between anonymous individuals belonging to local and distant communities. We used subtle reminders of the Christian god, Ogum, and police to investigate their influence on game behavior. The correlational and priming results are mostly in agreement, revealing that: (a) the Christian god is perceived as most moralizing, but (b) has only limited impact on game behavior, while (c) adherence to Ogum is associated with ingroup favoritism, as is (d) priming with secular authority. These results illustrate the differential effects of belief in moralizing and local deities on extended prosociality but show that in specific contexts, secular authorities may emulate the effects of local rather than moralizing deities.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83108226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"When god is watching: dictator game results from the Sursurunga of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea","authors":"Alexander H. Bolyanatz","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006284","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006284","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The influence of religious beliefs on social complexity is a fairly straightforward account. The possibility of social life beyond a face-to-face community exists when supernaturally sanctioned prosocial moral norms include an expanding circle of humanity—that is, when non-kin are treated as kin. This paper describes an effort to gain a clearer picture of the ways in which belief in a moralistic deity affects people’s behavior toward others, including distant coreligionists and faraway strangers, using Dictator Game (DG) play among the Sursurunga of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea. The DG experiments employed two conditions: a Local God condition and a Big God condition. Two predictions were made about the recipients of greater allocations of money in the Big God condition: (1) a distant coreligionist over a member of one’s kin group, and (2) a faraway stranger over a distant coreligionist. A final prediction was that (3) all allocations to oneself would be lower in the Big God condition than in the Local God condition. Only predictions (2) and (3) were supported by the results. An unexpected and surprising outcome was that after playing DG, participants who kept more for themselves tended to view God as less moralistic and less punitive.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83493279","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tom Vardy, Cristina Moya, Caitlyn D. Placek, C. Apicella, Alexander H. Bolyanatz, Emma Cohen, C. Handley, E. Kundtová Klocová, C. Lesorogol, Sarah Mathew, Sarah A. McNamara, B. Purzycki, Montserrat Soler, Jonathan L. Weigel, A. Willard, D. Xygalatas, A. Norenzayan, J. Henrich, M. Lang, Q. Atkinson
{"title":"The religiosity gender gap in 14 diverse societies","authors":"Tom Vardy, Cristina Moya, Caitlyn D. Placek, C. Apicella, Alexander H. Bolyanatz, Emma Cohen, C. Handley, E. Kundtová Klocová, C. Lesorogol, Sarah Mathew, Sarah A. McNamara, B. Purzycki, Montserrat Soler, Jonathan L. Weigel, A. Willard, D. Xygalatas, A. Norenzayan, J. Henrich, M. Lang, Q. Atkinson","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006292","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006292","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Scholars of religion have long sought to explain the persistent finding that women tend to report greater religiosity than men. However, the size of this “gender gap” may depend on the measure of religiosity employed, the religious tradition being sampled, and socio-demographic factors. Here, we conduct a systematic cross-cultural investigation into the prevalence of, and explanations for, the religiosity gender gap in 2,002 individuals from 14 diverse societies. While variation exists across societies, women in general indicate greater mental commitment (i.e., thinking and worrying more about) to their community’s moralistic god, more frequent participation in rituals for their community’s moralistic god, and more frequent prayer. While we find that the gender gap extends beyond the Christian world, no such difference was seen in religious commitment towards more local gods, to which men tend to show greater commitment. Tentative support is provided for explanations relating gender differences in religiosity to lower formal education and greater mentalizing among women, however an explanation for greater religious commitment to local gods among men remains elusive. Nevertheless, our data suggest that the moralizing gods of some contemporary world religions, unlike local deities and traditions, have evolved in ways that make them more appealing to women.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"91118602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
B. Purzycki, A. Willard, E. Klocová, C. Apicella, Q. Atkinson, Alexander H. Bolyanatz, Emma Cohen, C. Handley, J. Henrich, M. Lang, C. Lesorogol, Sarah Mathew, R. McNamara, Cristina Moya, A. Norenzayan, Caitlyn D. Placek, Montserrat Soler, Tom Vardy, Jonathan L. Weigel, D. Xygalatas, Cody T Ross
{"title":"The moralization bias of gods’ minds: a cross-cultural test","authors":"B. Purzycki, A. Willard, E. Klocová, C. Apicella, Q. Atkinson, Alexander H. Bolyanatz, Emma Cohen, C. Handley, J. Henrich, M. Lang, C. Lesorogol, Sarah Mathew, R. McNamara, Cristina Moya, A. Norenzayan, Caitlyn D. Placek, Montserrat Soler, Tom Vardy, Jonathan L. Weigel, D. Xygalatas, Cody T Ross","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006291","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT There are compelling reasons to expect that cognitively representing any active, powerful deity motivates cooperative behavior. One mechanism underlying this association could be a cognitive bias toward generally attributing moral concern to anthropomorphic agents. If humans cognitively represent the minds of deities and humans in the same way, and if human agents are generally conceptualized as having moral concern, a broad tendency to attribute moral concern—a “moralization bias”—to supernatural deities follows. Using data from 2,228 individuals in 15 different field sites, we test for the existence of such a bias. We find that people are indeed more likely than chance to indicate that local deities care about punishing theft, murder, and deceit. This effect is stable even after holding beliefs about explicitly moralistic deities constant. Additionally, we take a close look at data collected among Hadza foragers and find two of their deities to be morally interested. There is no evidence to suggest that this effect is due to direct missionary contact. We posit that the “moralization bias of gods’ minds” is part of a widespread but variable religious phenotype, and a candidate mechanism that contributes to the well-recognized association between religion and cooperation.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74623396","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Evolution of Religion and Morality project: reflections and looking ahead","authors":"B. Purzycki, M. Lang, J. Henrich, A. Norenzayan","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021546","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This special issue marks the formal end to the Evolution of Religion and Morality project and highlights the overall findings with particular attention to our second wave of data collection. In this concluding article, we first briefly detail how the project came about and how it developed. We then catalogue our contributions, summarizing the empirical results of key synthetic investigations that were part of the overall project. In an effort to shed some light on issues future researchers might benefit from knowing about, we also discuss some of the limitations and problems in design and execution of our effort. We conclude with a discussion of current, ongoing works, and our vision for the future of the cognitive and evolutionary studies of religion.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86096632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Depth vs. breadth: lessons from the Evolution of Religion and Morality project","authors":"Rebekah A. Richert","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021551","url":null,"abstract":"The Evolution of Religion and Morality project highlights the critical need for, and signi fi cant chal-lenges in, building and executing global research e ff orts that are both rigorous and meaningful. Although this special issue is meant to signal the conclusion of this research e ff ort, the authors are candid that the Evolution of Religion and Morality project raises perhaps more questions than it has yet answered about the nature of belief in moralizing gods and the evolution of morality. The project also raises the need for clarity in research programs that incorporate variation in cultural beliefs and practices.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76597703","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Moralistic and local god beliefs and the extent of prosocial preferences on Tanna Island, Vanuatu","authors":"Tom Vardy, Q. Atkinson","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006290","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006290","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The co-existence of Christian and indigenous “Kastom” belief systems on Tanna Island, Vanuatu provides a rare opportunity to explore the relationship between cooperation and religion. Here, we use data on religious beliefs and practices, religious priming, and four versions of a dictator game at two sites—one predominantly Christian and one predominantly Kastom—to test a suite of hypotheses linking prosocial behavior to beliefs about and commitment to both a powerful moralistic god and a less morally concerned local supernatural force. We found belief that the moralistic god was more punitive did not predict increased giving towards co-religionists but did predict giving more to a religious outgroup member over a co-religionist. Belief that the moralistic god was more rewarding predicted less giving towards a distant coreligionist or outgroup member. Religious commitment predicted giving to a distant coreligionist over someone from one's own village. We did not find any effect of beliefs about and commitment to less morally-concerned local supernatural forces on giving. We also did not find the predicted effects of religious priming on giving. These findings suggest a more complex relationship between religious beliefs and prosocial behavior than current theory can accommodate.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80231920","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Big comparison","authors":"T. Luhrmann","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2021548","url":null,"abstract":"A., & Henrich, J. (2016). Moralistic gods, supernatural punishment and the expansion of human sociality. Nature, 530(7590), 327–330. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16980 Roos, P., Gelfand, M., Nau, D., & Lun, J. (2015). Societal threat and cultural variation in the strength of social norms: An evolutionary basis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 129, 14–23. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.obhdp.2015.01.003 Swanson, G. E. (1960). The birth of the gods: The origin of primitive beliefs (Vol. 93). University of Michigan Press. Watts, J., Bulbulia, J., Gray, R. D., & Atkinson, Q. D. (2016). Clarity and causality needed in claims about big Gods. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 39. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X15000576 Watts, J., Greenhill, S. J., Atkinson, Q. D., Currie, T. E., Bulbulia, J., & Gray, R. D. (2015). Broad supernatural punishment but not moralizing high gods precede the evolution of political complexity in Austronesia. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1804), 20142556. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2556 Watts, J., Sheehan, O., Bulbulia, J., Gray, R. D., & Atkinson, Q. D. (2018). Christianity spread faster in small, politically structured societies. Nature Human Behaviour, 2(8), 559–564. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-018-0379-3","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73592840","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
E. Kundtová Klocová, M. Lang, P. Maňo, R. Kundt, D. Xygalatas
{"title":"Cigarettes for the dead: effects of sorcery beliefs on parochial prosociality in Mauritius","authors":"E. Kundtová Klocová, M. Lang, P. Maňo, R. Kundt, D. Xygalatas","doi":"10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006286","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006286","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Research testing evolutionary models of religious morality shows that supernatural beliefs in moralizing gods positively affect prosociality. However, the effects of beliefs related to local supernatural agents have not been extensively explored. Drawing from a Mauritian Hindu sample, we investigated the effects of beliefs and practices related to two different types of local supernatural agents (spirits of the deceased unconcerned with morality) on preferential resources allocation to receivers differing in geographical and social closeness to participants. These spirits are ambiguously linked to either ancestor worship or sorcery practice. Previous studies suggested that sorcery beliefs erode social bonds and trust, but such research is often limited by social stigma and missing relevant comparison with other beliefs. To overcome these limitations, we used nuanced free-list data to discriminate between the two modes of spirit beliefs and tested how each contributes to decision-making in economic games (Random Allocation, Dictator). Expressing sorcery beliefs together with performing rituals addressed to the spirits was associated with greater probability of rule-breaking for selfish/parochial outcomes in the Random Allocation Game (compared to ancestor worship). No difference in money allocations was found in the Dictator Game.","PeriodicalId":45959,"journal":{"name":"Religion Brain & Behavior","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79864786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}