Great expectations for Ara Norenzayan's Big Gods
In Big Gods (2013), Ara Norenzayan argues that the rise of large-scale societies was made possible by an extension of small-scale religious prosociality, presided over (and enforced) by Big moralizing watchful Gods. While religious prosociality is, of course, a redundant characterization of any smal...
| Subtitles: | Review Symposium on Ara Norenzayan: "Big Gods: how religion transformed cooperation and conflict" (2013) |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
[2014]
|
| In: |
Religion
Year: 2014, Volume: 44, Issue: 4, Pages: 628-637 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Norenzayan, Ara 1970-, Big gods
/ Traditional society
/ Nature religion
/ Cultural evolution
/ Idea of God
|
| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion BB Indigenous religions BG World religions |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In Big Gods (2013), Ara Norenzayan argues that the rise of large-scale societies was made possible by an extension of small-scale religious prosociality, presided over (and enforced) by Big moralizing watchful Gods. While religious prosociality is, of course, a redundant characterization of any small-scale religious group, it is doubtful that its extension can account for the historical emergence of large-scale societies, nor can cooperation be explained as an effect of surveillance. Rather, the archaeological and historical record indicates that such large-scale expansions of human societies are better explained by economic factors, political power, and/or military force. Difficulties with Norenzayan's theory are explored and several alternative theories to his ‘neglect of history’ are suggested. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0048-721X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2014.937062 |