Costly requirements predict religious group longevity independent of other factors

Evidence

Religious communes were about four times less likely than secular ones to dissolve at any given year as a result of internal conflict, economic hardship, or natural disaster. Importantly, the number of costly requirements predicted religious commune longevity, after controlling for population size and income and year the commune was founded (to control for fluctuations in historical events that might have independently influenced commune longevity). — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 350

Categorization

• XREF: Extends the commune survival finding reported in chapter 1 — reader can trace the same community across the book.