Mortality reminders amplify intolerance unless paired with compassionate in-group teachings

Evidence

When people are reminded of death, they defensively cling to their cultural beliefs and become more intolerant toward cultural others, including religious others. Yet, even when existential threat is in the air, there is the possibility of transforming jingoism into pacifism. In one study among Iranian Muslims, reminders of death increased support for suicide attacks against Americans. However, when also reminded of Islamic compassionate values (“Do goodness to others because Allah loves those who do good,”), reminders of death decreased support for anti-American suicide attacks. In a parallel study with American Fundamentalist Christians, reminders of death again increased support for American military intervention in the Middle East. However, reading compassionate messages from the teachings of Jesus (“love thy neighbor as thyself”), combined with reminders of death, led to decreased support for military solutions, down to levels comparable to opinions expressed by liberal Americans. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 550

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors the reader’s Big-God framing: death salience heightens reliance on perceived supernatural surveillance/group markers, and compassionate reframing widens the moral circle — the flip side of the fumi-e coercion.
• QUESTION: How would Rodrigues’ mortal martyrdom — a constant death reminder — interact with the compassionate teachings of the crucifixion he preaches?