Groups may posture sacred claims that are not deeply held identity commitments

Evidence

An important issue that both the Iranian and Indian studies raise is that in some cases claims to sacred values may be posturing, perhaps designed to secure a strong bargaining position. One possibility is that in some conflicts— such as that between Muslims and Hindus—one side may adopt a sacred stance reflecting that of the other group; however, such a stance may not be deeply felt or incorporated into the relevant collective identity. This remains an interesting hypothesis in need of testing. — Scott Atran and Jeremy Ginges, Sacred Values and Cultural Conflict, 85

Categorization

• QUESTION: Directly relevant to whether professed sacred conviction predicts actual measured bias — suggests professed sacredness can be purely strategic.
• XREF: Mirrors the manufactured-enemy thread: sacred stances may be adopted for bargaining rather than felt identity. — connects to: Sacred values can form quickly through ritual and perceived group threat. — Hammad Sheikh and Jeremy Ginges and Alin Coman and Scott Atran, Religion, group threat and sacred values, 8; Claims of sacred land ownership secure one group’s dominance over others — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 120; Conversion rituals can be exploited to gain membership without sincere belief (+2 more)

Related

• Ritual participation plus perceived threat converts disputed preferences into sacred values. (similarity 0.81)
• Perceived out-group threat amplifies ritual-driven sacralization of values. (similarity 0.81)
• Participation in religious ritual creates sacred values, especially under group threat. (similarity 0.81)
• Sacred values can form quickly through ritual and perceived group threat. (similarity 0.80)
• External threat drives groups to ritualize preferences into sacred values (similarity 0.80)
• Claims of sacred land ownership secure one group’s dominance over others (similarity 0.80)
• Participation in religious ritual and perceived group threat jointly make people sacralize preferences. (similarity 0.79)
• Religious ritual participation increases sacred values even on non-religious topics. (similarity 0.79)
• Sacred values bind group identity and give groups advantage through non-rational commitment. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Conversion rituals can be exploited to gain membership without sincere belief #expands (0.85)
• External threat drives groups to ritualize preferences into sacred values #contradicts (0.75) — Hammad Sheikh and Jeremy Ginges and Alin Coman and Scott Atran, Religion, group threat and sacred values, 14