Gods, rituals, and the moral order

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion • Vol/Iss. 40(4) • Blackwell Publishers Inc. • • Published In • Pages: 619-636 •
By Stark, Rodney

Hypothesis

Belief in moralizing High Gods will be associated with cultural complexity (621).

Note

Correlations significant across seven measures of cultural complexity: Dairy herds (0.898), Domesticated Large Animals (0.876), Existence of the State (0.790), Metal Working (0.777), Weaving (0.718), Cereal-Based Agriculture (0.689), and Pottery Making (0.655).

Test

Test NameSupportSignificanceCoefficientTail
GammaSupportedp < 0.001See notesUNKNOWN

Variables

Variable NameVariable Type OCM Term(s)
Belief In Moralizing GodsDependentSpirits And Gods, Theological Systems
WeavingIndependentWoven And Other Interworked Fabrics
Dairy HerdsIndependentDomesticated Animals, Dairying
Domesticated Large AnimalsIndependentDomesticated Animals, Pastoral Activities
Existence of the StateIndependentTerritorial Hierarchy
Metal WorkingIndependentMetallurgy
Cereal-Based AgricultureIndependentCereal Agriculture
Pottery MakingIndependentCeramic Technology