Shared origin myths establish collective identity by creating a sacred narrative past

Evidence

A shared reality develops and is perpetuated in part through shared origin stories (Caporael, 1997). Each of the major religious traditions has a creation/origin myth that is passed from one generation to the next as a way of establishing a shared reality. In particular, creation/ origin myths create a shared narrative past that is connected to the sacred and convey a group’s shared identity (Leeming & Leeming, 1994). For example, the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) all share the same origin story, which can be traced in part to the Babylonian creation story of Enuma Elish (Heidel, 1953). — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 899

Categorization

• XREF: Extends the network of identity/cognition mechanisms; if the chapter’s later argument ties shared reality to intergroup animus, this feeds the read on how religious worldviews gained their ‘givenness’. — connects to: Founding myths silently bury inconvenient facts of shared ancestry — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 73
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 899