Sacred values resist material incentives and are best countered only by rival sacred values.

Evidence

So a big question seems to be, short of a massive military onslaught against the Islamic State, whose downstream consequences are likely to be as uncontrollable as they may be undesirable, what can be done? Of all those opposed to the Islamic State, only the devoted actors of Kurdeity succeed on their own turf in resisting the devoted actors of the Islamic state. … People who are willing to sacrifice everything, including their lives— the totality of their self-interests—will not be lured away just by material incentives or disincentives. The science suggests that sacred values are best opposed with other sacred values that inspire devotion, or by sundering the fused social networks that embed those values. — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor, 82

Categorization

• SEED: Backs an argument that countering extreme sacred-value groups requires opposing sacred values or network rupture, not incentives — relevant to counterterrorism and de-radicalization essays.
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that only rival sacred devotion, not material or rational correction, can move the devoted actor is the crux supporting the reader’s paradigm.
• XREF: 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; Sacred values resist tradeoffs because communities set them apart as nonfungible moral imperatives. — Scott Atran and Jeremy Ginges, Sacred Values and Cultural Conflict, 4; Moral commitment to sacred values leverages movements lacking material means against stronger opposition. — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor: Unconditional…, 46 (+14 more)

Related

• Sacred values resist tradeoffs because communities set them apart as nonfungible moral imperatives. (similarity 0.91)
• Sacred-value defenders benefit materially yet must deny those benefits to stay non-negotiable (similarity 0.90)
• Moral commitment to sacred values leverages movements lacking material means against stronger opposition. (similarity 0.88)
• Sacred values resist cost-benefit correction unlike ordinary preferences (similarity 0.88)
• Sacred-value commitment produces costly sacrifice that lets weak groups beat stronger foes. (similarity 0.88)
• Sacralized values resist material incentives and cause offer-driven concessions to backfire (similarity 0.88)
• Material incentives for relinquishing sacred values backfire and harden resistance (similarity 0.87)
• Defending sacred values defies material cost-benefit prediction across decision contexts. (similarity 0.87)
• Sacred values are measured by refusal to trade a preference for money (similarity 0.85)
• Offering material incentives for sacred-value compromises backfires and increases hostility (similarity 0.85)
• Material offers to resolve sacred-value conflicts backfire and increase violence, while symbolic concessions work. (similarity 0.84)
• Sacred values and identity fusion interact to drive sacrificial self-interest. (similarity 0.84)
• Sacred values resist trade-offs and override rational self-interest in decision making. (similarity 0.83)
• Sacred values and resource scarcity create an irreconcilable tension in social life. (similarity 0.83)
• Sacred-values-driven violence is insensitive to cost-benefit scope. (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Material incentives for relinquishing sacred values backfire and harden resistance #expands (0.90) — Scott Atran and Jeremy Ginges, Sacred Values and Cultural Conflict, 48
• Sacralized values resist material incentives and cause offer-driven concessions to backfire #corroborates (0.90) — Hammad Sheikh and Jeremy Ginges and Alin Coman and Scott Atran, Religion, group threat and sacred values, 5
• Sacred values resist trade-offs and override rational self-interest in decision making. #expands (0.85) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 545
• Offering material incentives for sacred-value compromises backfires and increases hostility #expands (0.85) — Scott Atran and Jeremy Ginges, Sacred Values and Cultural Conflict, 67
• Material incentives backfire on sacred values while symbolic recognition softens opposition. #qualifies (0.80) — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 547
• Sacred values resist cost-benefit correction unlike ordinary preferences #corroborates (0.80) — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor, 4
• Elites can sway people by reframing sacred values as secular tradeoffs. #contradicts (0.80) — Scott Atran and Jeremy Ginges, Sacred Values and Cultural Conflict, 20
• Genuine moral commitments resist monetary incentives to switch #corroborates (0.80) — Nicolas Baumard, A mutualistic approach to morality, 303
• Sacred-value defenders benefit materially yet must deny those benefits to stay non-negotiable #expands (0.75) — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor, 60
• Reducing sacred values to material ones worsens conflict #expands (0.75)
• Sacred-value commitment produces costly sacrifice that lets weak groups beat stronger foes. #expands (0.75) — Scott Atran, The Devoted Actor, 1
• Religious truth claims resist disconfirmation, which strengthens members’ faith and defensiveness. #exemplifies (0.75)
• Sacredness is a functional universal that anchors compliance and resists secular contamination. #corroborates (0.75) — Philip E. Tetlock, Thinking the unthinkable, 5
• Merely contemplating trade-offs on sacred values provokes moral outrage beyond cognitive confusion #expands (0.70) — Philip E. Tetlock, Thinking the unthinkable, 12