Extending moral concern to anonymous strangers was originally a religious achievement.

Evidence

Yet, as de Waal explains, these moral instincts are rooted in the equally ancient evolutionary imperatives to favor the bonds of blood and alliance. They can’t explain the key puzzle I am exploring in this book—how intense cooperation among anonymous strangers emerged, why only in human beings, and why only recently in humanity’s evolutionary trajectory. The large-scale extension of moral concern to anonymous strangers who demonstrate commitment to the same faith was originally a religious achievement. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 472

Categorization

• XREF: Directly anchors the reader’s Big God / partner-choice analysis: religious expansion of moral concern to strangers is the mechanism Norenzayan pairs with Baumard’s partner choice and with Rodrigues’ apostasy-visible world. — connects to: Religion is historically the primary motivator of prosociality among strangers.; The religion-morality link is a recent cultural invention, not an ancient universal; Religion functioned as a shared communicative idiom bridging tribal trust and urban fear. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2078 (+3 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 472

Broader Connections

• Religion is historically the primary motivator of prosociality among strangers. #corroborates (0.92)
• Religion functioned as a shared communicative idiom bridging tribal trust and urban fear. #expands (0.82) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2078
• The religion-morality link is a recent cultural invention, not an ancient universal #complicates (0.78)
• Religious ceremonies built community that extended beyond individual plantations. #exemplifies (0.75)
• Prosocial religious groups outcompeted rivals through internal cooperation. #corroborates (0.72)