Big Gods and other watcher mechanisms in the formation of large groups
Norenzayan's effort to integrate genetic and cultural evolution is a welcome advance over previous efforts, as is the attention he devotes to different levels of analysis from cognitive mechanisms to large group interactions. The scope of Norenzayan's argument, however, is bound to leave m...
| Subtitles: | Review Symposium on Ara Norenzayan: "Big Gods: how religion transformed cooperation and conflict" (2013) |
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| 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]
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| In: |
Religion
Year: 2014, Volume: 44, Issue: 4, Pages: 658-666 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Norenzayan, Ara 1970-, Big gods
/ Idea of God
/ Moral act
/ Control
/ Cultural evolution
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| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion BB Indigenous religions BG World religions |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Norenzayan's effort to integrate genetic and cultural evolution is a welcome advance over previous efforts, as is the attention he devotes to different levels of analysis from cognitive mechanisms to large group interactions. The scope of Norenzayan's argument, however, is bound to leave many scholars of religion feeling uneasy. The content of his model, which is most likely over specified, will need further testing in light of historical evidence. Comparison of Big Gods with Robert Bellah's Religion in Human Evolution (2011) highlights some of the choices Norenzayan made in designing his model and suggests ways it could be elaborated. Historians of religion who would like to help test his model could keep an eye out for ‘watcher mechanisms’ that might play more of a role than ‘moralizing Big Gods’ in some traditions and, thus, potentially offer an alternative route to large, anonymous, yet stable groups. |
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| ISSN: | 0048-721X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/0048721X.2014.937072 |