Mater semper certa est, pater incertus : Religious
mate-guarding as a tool for paternal investment

k 2022

Mater semper certa est, pater incertus : Religious mate-guarding as a tool for paternal investment

DVOŘÁČKOVÁ, Terezie

Basic information

Original name

Mater semper certa est, pater incertus : Religious mate-guarding as a tool for paternal investment

Name in Czech

Matka je vždy jistá, otec nejistý : Náboženský mate-guarding jako prostředek k otcovské investici

Authors

DVOŘÁČKOVÁ, Terezie

Edition

19th Annual Conference of the European Association for the Study of Religions, 27. 6. – 1. 7. 2022, Cork, Ireland, 2022

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

60304 Religious studies

Country of publisher

Ireland

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

Keywords (in Czech)

Alloparenting; otcovská péče; jistota otcovství; náboženský mate-guarding; eHRAF

Keywords in English

Alloparenting; paternal care; paternal certainty; religious mate-guarding; eHRAF

Abstract

V originále

Religious norms and practices often control human behavior. Such limitation of human freedom is significantly apparent in the area of sexual behavior, especially for women. Here, the question of why such various ideas about faithfulness and rules related to women’s sexuality and reproduction exist (such as veiling, genital mutilations, menstrual taboos, prohibition of free movement, child marriage, penalties for transgressing the sexual norms, violence, honor killing, infanticide, etc.) is approached in terms of inherent paternal uncertainty. Given that from an evolutionary standpoint, fathers would lose by investing in a child with someone else’s genes, cultural technologies may reflect the need to increase paternal certainty through diverse mate-guarding practices. On the opposite side, mothers cannot effectively reproduce without help with the care of the offspring. There is often an enormous need for aid from alloparenting, including care provided by the father. Moreover, the form and the amount of paternal investment depend on the demands of the particular socio-ecological context. Finding a link between this variation of paternal care and the variation in religious mate-guarding would provide a vital insight into the potential reproductive functions of religious norms and practices. Such findings would further illustrate the evolution of cultural forms supporting individual fitness. The potential of using cross-cultural data (drawn from ethnographic databases such as eHRAF) in this research lies in finding cross-cultural patterns of culturally shaped human behavior in response to socio-ecological conditions to promote fertility by extending paternal care through an increase in paternity certainty.

Links

MUNI/A/1435/2021, interní kód MU

Name: Velké otázky ve studiu náboženství: Snaha o propojování humanitní a přírodovědné expertízy (Acronym: VESNA)

Investor: Masaryk University

Citovat

DVOŘÁČKOVÁ, Terezie. Mater semper certa est, pater incertus : Religious mate-guarding as a tool for paternal investment. In 19th Annual Conference of the European Association for the Study of Religions, 27. 6. – 1. 7. 2022, Cork, Ireland. 2022.

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   author = {Dvořáčková, Terezie},
   booktitle = {19th Annual Conference of the European Association for the Study of Religions, 27. 6. – 1. 7. 2022, Cork, Ireland},
   keywords = {Alloparenting; paternal care; paternal certainty; religious mate-guarding; eHRAF},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Mater semper certa est, pater incertus : Religious mate-guarding as a tool for paternal investment},
   url = {https://abbey.eventsair.com/AbbeyEventApp/easr2022/conference-programme/Agenda/AgendaItemDetail?id=0b0cea72-e810-4a1d-b796-c39020d4e3d9},
   year = {2022}
}

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AU  - Dvořáčková, Terezie
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UR  - https://abbey.eventsair.com/AbbeyEventApp/easr2022/conference-programme/Agenda/AgendaItemDetail?id=0b0cea72-e810-4a1d-b796-c39020d4e3d9
N2  - Religious norms and practices often control human behavior. Such limitation of human freedom is significantly apparent in the area of sexual behavior, especially for women. Here, the question of why such various ideas about faithfulness and rules related to women’s sexuality and reproduction exist (such as veiling, genital mutilations, menstrual taboos, prohibition of free movement, child marriage, penalties for transgressing the sexual norms, violence, honor killing, infanticide, etc.) is approached in terms of inherent paternal uncertainty. Given that from an evolutionary standpoint, fathers would lose by investing in a child with someone else’s genes, cultural technologies may reflect the need to increase paternal certainty through diverse mate-guarding practices. On the opposite side, mothers cannot effectively reproduce without help with the care of the offspring. There is often an enormous need for aid from alloparenting, including care provided by the father. Moreover, the form and the amount of paternal investment depend on the demands of the particular socio-ecological context. Finding a link between this variation of paternal care and the variation in religious mate-guarding would provide a vital insight into the potential reproductive functions of religious norms and practices. Such findings would further illustrate the evolution of cultural forms supporting individual fitness. The potential of using cross-cultural data (drawn from ethnographic databases such as eHRAF) in this research lies in finding cross-cultural patterns of culturally shaped human behavior in response to socio-ecological conditions to promote fertility by extending paternal care through an increase in paternity certainty.
ER  -

DVOŘÁČKOVÁ, Terezie. Mater semper certa est, pater incertus : Religious mate-guarding as a tool for paternal investment. In \textit{19th Annual Conference of the European Association for the Study of Religions, 27. 6. – 1. 7. 2022, Cork, Ireland}. 2022.

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