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Cited by 569Evolutionary Game Theory and CooperationEvolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorViolence, Religion, and Philosophy

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

Sosis, Richard, Bressler, Eric R.·2003·Cross-Cultural Research
DOI 10.1177/1069397103037002003
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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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Crossref · 10.1177/1069397103037002003

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64 of 64 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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10 of the 74 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Deets, L. E. (1975). The Hutterites: A study in social cohesion. Philadelphia: Porcupine Press.
  2. Hinds, W. (1975). American communities and cooperative colonies. Philadelphia: Porcupine Press.
  3. Irons, W. (1996b). Morality as an evolved adaptation. In J. P. Hurd (Ed.), Investigating the biological foundations of morality (pp. 1-34). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellon Press.
  4. Irons, W. (1996c). Morality, religion, and evolution. In W. M. Richardson & W. Wildman (Eds.), Religion and science: History, method, and dialogue (pp. 375-399). New York: Routledge.
  5. Muncy, R. (1973). Sex and marriage in utopian communities. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
  6. Oved, Y. (1997). The lesson of the communes. In D. Leichman & I. Paz (Eds.), Kibbutz: An alternative lifestyle (pp. 53-58). Efal, Israel: Yad Tabenkin.
  7. Radcliffe-Brown, A. (1979). Taboo. In W. Lessa & E. Vogt (Eds.), Reader in comparative religion (4th ed., pp. 46-56). New York: Harper & Row.
  8. Wilson, L. (2000). Hutterites of Montana. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

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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
DOI
10.1177/1069397103037002003
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
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
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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