Sacred values are inviolable in conviction yet flexible in application

Evidence

And as Scott Atran and Robert Axelrod explain, sacred values are held with absolute conviction and are seen to be inviolable; yet due to ambiguities of interpretation, there is latitude as to how they are applied. This means that sacred values can be reframed, just as the boundaries of one’s moral community can be reframed. Does Islam allow or encourage suicide attacks because they are a form of Jihad (holy war against the enemies of Islam)? Or does Islam prohibit suicide attacks because the Koran forbids taking one’s own life and/or killing innocent noncombatants? When people reimagine their sacred values, their positions soften and opportunities for overcoming conflict emerge. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 549

Categorization

• QUESTION: Reframing latitude in sacred values resonates against the fumi-e apparatus, which is designed precisely to force a public, irrevocable enactment rather than allow interpretive latitude—worth clarifying the boundary of when reframing fails.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s earlier ‘moral community boundaries’ theme (supernatural monitoring, partner choice in Baumard) and to Rodrigues’ internal reframing of apostasy throughout the novel.