Explaining the rise of moralizing religions: a test of competing hypotheses using the Seshat Databank
Religion, Brain & Behavior • Vol/Iss. 13(2) • Taylor & Francis Group • • Published In • Pages: 167-194 •
By Turchin, Peter, Whitehouse, Harvey, Larson, Jennifer, Cioni, Enrico, Reddish, Jenny, Hoyer, Daniel, Savage, Patrick E., Covey, Alan, Baines, John, Altaweel, Mark, Anderson, Eugene, Bol, Peter, Brandl, Eva, Carballo, David M., Feinman, Gary M., Korotayev, Andrey V., Kradin, Nikolay, Levine, Jill D., Nugent, Selin E., Squitieri, Andrea, Wallace, Vesna, François, Pieter
Hypothesis
The rise of moralizing religions will be related to an increase in large-scale complex societies.
Note
The authors test the Big Gods hypothesis, which suggests that moralizing religions predict large-scale complex societies. The results show no support for direct causation between moralizing religion and social complexity.
| Test Name | Support | Significance | Coefficient | Tail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamic regression analyses | Not supported | p < .01 | UNKNOWN | UNKNOWN |
| Variable Name | Variable Type | OCM Term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Moralizing religions | Independent | Spirits And Gods |
| Large-scale complex societies | Dependent | Composition Of Population, Territorial Hierarchy |