Sacred-value defenders benefit materially yet must deny those benefits to stay non-negotiable

Evidence

Although individuals and collectivities sincerely deny the material benefits of sacred values, because (from a psychological and evolutionary perspective) recognizing these benefits would render them susceptible to trade-offs and buyouts, in fact individuals and collectivities often gain materially in important ways from promoting sacred values, such as particular interpretations of Islam, or Kurdeity, or liberal democracy. — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor, 60

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: A genuinely counterintuitive mechanism: material benefit actively requires self-deception — acknowledging the benefit would render the value tradable. Dense, paradigm-shifting idea about how convictions stay hardened.
• XREF: Resonates with the reader’s question about rational/moral correction backfiring against threat-hardened beliefs — here the denial of benefit is itself load-bearing. — connects to: Sacred values are measured by refusal to trade a preference for money — Hammad Sheikh and Jeremy Ginges and Alin Coman and Scott Atran, Religion, group threat and sacred values, 24; Sacralized claims to territory are framed as non-negotiable across all authority — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 1548; Material incentives for relinquishing sacred values backfire and harden resistance — Scott Atran and Jeremy Ginges, Sacred Values and Cultural Conflict, 48 (+3 more)

Related

• Sacred values resist material incentives and are best countered only by rival sacred values. (similarity 0.90)
• Defending sacred values defies material cost-benefit prediction across decision contexts. (similarity 0.86)
• Material incentives for relinquishing sacred values backfire and harden resistance (similarity 0.86)
• Sacred values resist tradeoffs because communities set them apart as nonfungible moral imperatives. (similarity 0.86)
• Sacralized values resist material incentives and cause offer-driven concessions to backfire (similarity 0.85)
• Symbolic recognition, not material incentives, opens negotiations over sacred values (similarity 0.84)
• Sacred values resist material trade-offs and respond to symbolic meaning (similarity 0.84)
• Offering material incentives for sacred-value compromises backfires and increases hostility (similarity 0.83)
• Sacred values resist cost-benefit correction unlike ordinary preferences (similarity 0.82)
• Sacred values resist trade-offs and override rational self-interest in decision making. (similarity 0.82)
• Moral commitment to sacred values leverages movements lacking material means against stronger opposition. (similarity 0.82)
• Sacred values are measured by refusal to trade a preference for money (similarity 0.82)
• Sacred-value commitment produces costly sacrifice that lets weak groups beat stronger foes. (similarity 0.80)
• Material offers to resolve sacred-value conflicts backfire and increase violence, while symbolic concessions work. (similarity 0.80)
• Sacredness is a functional universal that anchors compliance and resists secular contamination. (similarity 0.80)

Broader Connections

• Material incentives harden sacred-value conflicts while symbolic gestures soften them #expands (0.90)
• Material incentives backfire on sacred values while symbolic recognition softens opposition. #expands (0.90) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 547