Are gods really moral monitors?: some comments on Ara Norenzayan's Big Gods by a historian of religions

The assumption that moral monitoring is a widespread function of gods is not well supported by historical documentation. The further thesis, that ideas about monitoring gods increase prosocial behavior and thereby the capacity of societies for survival, is implausible in view of the historical evide...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:Review Symposium on Ara Norenzayan: "Big Gods: how religion transformed cooperation and conflict" (2013)
Main Author: Thomassen, Einar 1951- (Author)
Format: Electronic/Print Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group [2014]
In: Religion
Year: 2014, Volume: 44, Issue: 4, Pages: 667-673
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Norenzayan, Ara 1970-, Big gods / Idea of God / Moral act / Control / Religion / History
IxTheo Classification:AA Study of religion
AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AG Religious life; material religion
Online Access: Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:The assumption that moral monitoring is a widespread function of gods is not well supported by historical documentation. The further thesis, that ideas about monitoring gods increase prosocial behavior and thereby the capacity of societies for survival, is implausible in view of the historical evidence about successful societies.
ISSN:0048-721X
Contains:Enthalten in: Religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2014.937074