Religion is historically the primary motivator of prosociality among strangers.

Evidence

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 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

In the towns, there was specialization, no trust, and order based on fear. Religion provided an idiom in terms of which the various elements of the total society could communicate with each other. It provided the terminology for both tribal trust and urban fear. It could intermittently help tribal cohesion to extend its scale, and to revitalize the polity by providing a new set of rulers. — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2078 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Extending moral concern to anonymous strangers was originally a religious achievement. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 472; Prosocial religious groups outcompeted rivals through internal cooperation.; Secular authority primes increase stranger generosity as much as religious primes do. (+8 more)

Related

• Religious homogeneity increases cooperative behavior among strangers (similarity 0.91)
• Prosocial religious groups outcompeted rivals through internal cooperation. (similarity 0.91)
• Religious cues elicit prosociality only toward perceived co-religionists (similarity 0.89)
• Extending moral concern to anonymous strangers was originally a religious achievement. (similarity 0.88)
• Religious participation, not belief, drives support for intergroup conflict (similarity 0.87)
• Secular authority primes increase stranger generosity as much as religious primes do. (similarity 0.83)
• Chronic, communal, in-group religious practice drives the prosociality effect (similarity 0.83)
• Self-reported religiosity predicts prosociality only outside secular Western societies (similarity 0.82)
• Religiosity predicts helping only when one can be seen doing it (similarity 0.82)
• Daily communal prayer predicts greater cooperation in public goods games (similarity 0.82)
• Market integration and Big God religion independently predict prosocial generosity cross-culturally (similarity 0.81)
• Religion drives intergroup conflict through three mutable pathways, not belief alone (similarity 0.80)
• Situation beats stated religiosity in predicting selfishness (similarity 0.80)
• Religious belief only boosts prosociality where state institutions are weak (similarity 0.80)
• Religious behavior depends on situational context, observable action, and intergroup competition (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Religious homogeneity increases cooperative behavior among strangers #corroborates (0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 215
• Religion functioned as a shared communicative idiom bridging tribal trust and urban fear. #corroborates (0.80) — Diego Gambetta, Trust - Making and Breaking Cooperative…, 2078