Moralistic and local god beliefs and the extent of prosocial preferences on Tanna Island, Vanuatu
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...
| Published in: | Religion, brain & behavior |
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| Authors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
2022
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| In: |
Religion, brain & behavior
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| Further subjects: | B
Deity
B Vanuatu B Cooperation B prosocial B Religion B God B supernatural punishment |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | 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. |
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| ISSN: | 2153-5981 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion, brain & behavior
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/2153599X.2021.2006290 |