Hard-to-fake devotion rituals screened out religious freeloaders

Evidence

In this way, religious hypocrites were prevented from invading and undermining these groups. Through these and other solidarity-promoting mechanisms, religions of Big Gods forged anonymous strangers into large, cohesive moral communities tied together with the sacred bonds of a common supernatural jurisdiction. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 45

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Baumard partner-choice mechanism the reader is integrating: costly hard-to-fake displays are how believers signal genuine commitment.