Prosocial religious groups outcompeted rivals through internal cooperation.

Evidence

Thus, unlike the Good Samaritan study and ones like it, religious involvement predicted greater contributions to the public good, and greater likelihood of cooperation. One key difference is that reminders of God are likely to be more chronically present in religious kibbutz, madrassahs, and Candomble communities, where religious prayer and attendance are a daily part of life. Another is that prosociality in these communities clearly benefited in-group members (despite being anonymous), whereas in the Good Samaritan study, the victim was a total stranger. It is also possible that regular, communal prayer involves public ritual participation, which, independent of devotion to a morally concerned deity, might also encourage more prosociality. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 183 (#expands, via linked claim)

In one early study, a team of economists led by John Orbell examined cooperative behavior in the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game toward strangers in two American cities with vastly different levels of religious diversity. They found that individuals in a religiously homogenous Mormon society (Logan, Utah), where one could be confident that the stranger shared one’s religious beliefs, were far more willing to engage in cooperative behavior toward each other than those in a religiously heterogenous society (Eugene, Oregon). Furthermore, while greater levels of religious attendance was associated with more cooperative behavior in the homogenous Logan sample, no such correlation was observed in Eugene. This lends some support to the idea that religious markers elicit prosociality, and shows the bounded nature of religious trust. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 215 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Costly rites mobilize male solidarity and spread culturally through intergroup competition.; Extending moral concern to anonymous strangers was originally a religious achievement. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 472; Chronic, communal, in-group religious practice drives the prosociality effect — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 183 (+7 more)

Related

• Religious participation, not belief, drives support for intergroup conflict (similarity 0.92)
• Chronic, communal, in-group religious practice drives the prosociality effect (similarity 0.92)
• Religion is historically the primary motivator of prosociality among strangers. (similarity 0.91)
• Religious homogeneity increases cooperative behavior among strangers (similarity 0.88)
• Costly religious requirements directly explain group longevity in communes (similarity 0.88)
• Daily communal prayer predicts greater cooperation in public goods games (similarity 0.87)
• Extending moral concern to anonymous strangers was originally a religious achievement. (similarity 0.87)
• Religion drives intergroup conflict through three mutable pathways, not belief alone (similarity 0.86)
• Witnessing an intense ritual boosts prosociality as much as participating in it (similarity 0.85)
• Religious cues elicit prosociality only toward perceived co-religionists (similarity 0.85)
• Prosocial religions succeeded by bundling several psychological mechanisms into religious solidarity (similarity 0.85)
• Religious behavior depends on situational context, observable action, and intergroup competition (similarity 0.84)
• Self-reported religiosity predicts prosociality only outside secular Western societies (similarity 0.84)
• Audible religious calls trigger generosity in non-Western settings (similarity 0.83)
• Situation beats stated religiosity in predicting selfishness (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Chronic, communal, in-group religious practice drives the prosociality effect #expands (0.90) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 183
• Religious homogeneity increases cooperative behavior among strangers #expands (0.80) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 215
• Secular institutions achieved large-scale cooperation by usurping religion’s community-building role #responds-to (0.78)
• Prosocial religious cohesion inherently requires excluding nonbelievers from trust #expands (0.75)
• Group solidarity and in-group favoritism derive from mutualistic relationships, not independent moral rules. #qualifies (0.75) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 705
• Religion is historically the primary motivator of prosociality among strangers. #contradicts (0.70)