Existential security and welfare states mutually reinforce religious decline in Scandinavia.

Evidence

While the intuitions that support theistic beliefs—such as mind-body dualism and teleology—may have stayed intact, changes to the other pathways have led to widespread disbelief. These societies of apatheists and inCREDulous atheists enjoy high levels of existential security, strong and stable governments with social safety nets, and the absence of widespread passionate displays of religiosity in public life. Once again, these factors were likely mutually reinforcing: increases in existential security reduced motivations to attend religious services, in turn causing further declines of religious belief, leading to a retreat of religious displays from the public sphere. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 627

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the reader’s Big God framework where visible religious displays enforce cooperative norms — Scandinavia shows the feedback loop running in reverse, as displays withdraw.