The DOI matches its Crossref record; 64 of the 74 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Cooperation and Commune Longevity: A Test of the Costly Signaling Theory of Religion
Abstract
The costly signaling theory of religion posits that religious rituals and taboos can promote intragroup cooperation, which is argued to be the primary adaptive benefit of religion. To test this theory, the authors collected historical data on the constraints and ritual requirements that eighty-three 19th-century U.S. communes imposed on their members. All communes must solve the collective action problem of cooperative labor to survive; thus, they are an ideal population to assess the impact of ritual and taboo on intragroup cooperation. The authors evaluated whether communes that imposed costlier requirements survived longer than less demanding communes and whether costly requirements and religiosity interact to promote cooperation. The results support aspects of the costly signaling theory of religion and reveal new avenues for its development. The authors discuss some of the shortcomings of the theory and explore ways to expand the theory that incorporate additional features of ritual and religious belief.
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“and historical evidence shows that religious groups that have costly rituals are more successful (Sosis & Bressler, 2003).”
From The Psychology of Rituals: An Integrative Review and Process-Based Framework (2018) · cites this paper as Sosis & Bressler, 2003
In the citing paper
“Empirical evidence for the costly signaling theory includes an analysis of historical communes in the US, which were more likely to survive if they were religious: strict religious communes (with more prohibitions on food, sex, etc.) were more likely to survive than less strict groups (Sosis & Bressler, 2003).”
From The Challenge of Evolution to Religion (2019) · cites this paper as Sosis & Bressler, 2003
In the citing paper
“Sosis and Bressler (2003) found that longevity for religious communes was positively related to the magnitude of the costly acts required for membership within a commune (e.g., restriction from alcohol and sex).”
From Parasite-stress promotes in-group assortative sociality: The cases of strong family ties and heightened religiosity (2012) · cites this paper as Sosis and Bressler 2003
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“Previous studies demonstrated that groups with costly rituals survive longer (Sosis & Bressler, 2003) and ritual participation increases with higher levels of economic uncertainty (Chen, 2010; Norris & Inglehart, 2004) and intergroup con ict (Henrich et al., 2019; Sosis et al., 2007).”
BackgroundFrost, K. (2013) · Cliodynamics The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution · doi:10.21237/c7clio4262943 · Cited by 1
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Ellsworth, R. M. (2009) · MOspace Institutional Repository (University of Missouri) · doi:10.32469/10355/6527
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“Durch solche costly rituals (23, 27, 28) werden der Gruppenzusammenhalt und damit das wechselseitige Vertrauen gefördert.”
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“However, collectivist societies and groups with strong religious systems will be the most efficient at surviving when subsistence conditions are agrarian and pre-technological (see Sosis & Bressler, 2003 ; Wilson, 2002 ).”
BackgroundThe Evolutionary Origin and Biological Utility of Supernatural Expertise
Mahoney, A. (2011) · Open Access Victoria University of Wellington | Te Herenga Waka (Figshare) · doi:10.26686/wgtn.16985254.v1
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“) predicts prosocial behavior, and various studies have supported this prediction (Bulbulia and Mahoney, 2008; Johnson, 2005; Johnson and Kruger, 2004; Soler, 2008; Sosis and Alcorta, 2008; Sosis and Bressler, 2003; Sosis, Kress, and Boster, 2007).”
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“Sosis (2000) and Sosis and Bressler (2003) provide evidence consistent with this implication using data on secular and religious communes the XIXth century U.S.A.”
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Junker, T. (2015) · Archäologische Informationen · doi:10.11588/ai.2014.0.18192
“TJ; vgl. auch SOSIS & BRESSLER 2003).”
―RELIGION, MORALITY, EVOLUTION‖ DĠN, AHLAK, EVRĠM *
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“Certainly there is evidence that such is at least plausible (Irons, 2001; Sosis & Bressler, 2003).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Sosis, R., & Bressler, E. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Connecticut (US)
- McMaster University (CA)
- ORCID
- Sosis, Richard
- Venue
- Cross-Cultural Research
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2003-05
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 211-239
- ISSN
- 0094-3673 (ISSN-L)
- 1069-3971
- 1552-3578
- OpenAlex
- W2044683788
- Cited by
- 569
- References
- 74
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 36 · 2021: 34 · 2020: 64 · 2019: 39 · 2018: 29 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 29 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 24 · 2012: 24
- FWCI
- 37.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cross-Cultural Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Violence, Religion, and Philosophy
- Keywords
- religious rituals, taboos, communes, collective action, religious constraints, religious beliefs
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