Ritual as a technology enhancing norm objectivity

KUNDT, Radek, Radim CHVAJA, Jan HORSKÝ and Martin LANG. Ritual as a technology enhancing norm objectivity. In IACESR 2022 (International association for the cognitive and evolutionary sciences of religion), 19-21 September 2022, Aarhus University, Denmark. 2022.

Basic information

• Original name: Ritual as a technology enhancing norm objectivity
• Authors: KUNDT, Radek, Radim CHVAJA, Jan HORSKÝ and Martin LANG.
• Edition: IACESR 2022 (International association for the cognitive and evolutionary sciences of religion), 19-21 September 2022, Aarhus University, Denmark, 2022.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Presentations at conferences
• Field of Study: 60304 Religious studies
• Country of publisher: Denmark
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: URL
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Keywords in English: ritual form; moral norms; perceived objectivity; moral psychology; cooperation
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

Perceiving moral norms as absolute and independent of time and space is a widespread feature of human cognition. Such perceived norm objectivity strengthens internal motivation to adhere to norms thus stabilizing risky cooperation within the group. Although various elements of religious systems were suggested to enhance the objectivity of moral norms (e.g., belief in moralizing gods), the crucial role of ritual in the process has been neglected. We tested the association between attending collective religious rituals and perception of moral norms as objective. Furthermore, identifying three characteristic features of ritual form - materialization, invariance, and digitalization, we examined their role in promoting norm objectivity. We used two cross-sectional datasets, conducted five correlational studies with three culturally distinct populations, and report on the initial support for theories suggesting that ritual behavior helps ground moral norms by affecting perceptual mechanisms related to norm processing.

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