Secular institutions substitute for Big Gods by enforcing stranger cooperation

Evidence

Historically, beliefs and practices that revolved around Big Gods were the driving force behind large cooperative social groups. But in the most secularized corners of the West, and other parts of the world such as in East Asia, an elaborate but fragile set of norms and institutions have emerged that enforce cooperation and encourage trust among strangers. If you suspect that someone is stealing from you, you call the police. If you have a financial dispute with a stranger, you go to an independent court. Trusting the institutions means you can also trust the strangers who obey these institutions. More trust means lower transaction costs and more mutual benefits, which creates a virtuous cycle of trust and cooperation. — Norenzayan, Ara, Big gods - how religion transformed…, 553

Categorization

• XREF: This is precisely the substitution mechanism the reader is tracing in Silence — impersonal institutions (or the shogunate’s authority structure) replacing religious surveillance. Connects to Norenzayan’s institutional-trust thesis and Baumard’s partner-choice framework.
• QUESTION: What makes these secular institutions ‘fragile’? Worth chasing — the fragility claim is asserted but not yet developed.