From Deprived to Revived

Description

It is a truism that religion has to do with social cohesion, but the precise nature of this link has eluded scholars and scientists. Drawing on new research in religiously motivated prosociality, evolution of cooperation, and system theory, this book describes how fluctuations in individuals' strategic environment give impetus to a self-organizatory process where ritual behavior works to alleviate uncertainties in social commitment. It also traces the dynamic roles played by emotions, social norms, and socioeconomic context. While exploring the social functions of ritual and revivalist behavior, the book seeks to avoid the fallacies that result from disregarding their explicit religious character. To illustrate these processes, a case study of Christian revivals in early 19th-century Finland is included. The thesis of the book is relevant to theories of the evolution of religion and the role of religion in organizing human societies. Summary Preface 1 Introduction 1.1 Subject and Plan of the Study 1.2 The Intellectual Context 1.2.1 The Perspective of Complex Adaptive Systems 1.2.2 The Modelling Approach 1.2.3 Evolution of Religion on Multiple Levels 1.2.4 Norm Groups Emerge from Psychological Rudiments 1.2.5 Difference to Economist Approaches 1.3 Research Questions and Methodology 2 Cooperation as a Human Puzzle 2.1 Ubiquitous Cooperation 2.2 Evolutionary Considerations 2.2.1 Kin, Reciprocity, Reputation 2.2.2 Cultural Group Selection 2.2.3 Costly Signaling 2.3 Social Psychology of Norms 2.4 The Strategic Role of Emotions 2.5 Chapter Conclusions 3 Religion as a Solution to Social Dilemmas 3.1 Effects of Religion on Prosocial Behavior: Four Predictions 3.1.1 Reputational Concern 3.1.2 Cues of the Supernatural 3.1.3 Morally Concerned Deities 3.1.4 Signals of Commitment 3.2 Evaluation of the Signaling Hypothesis 3.2.1 The Problem of Underlying Quality 3.2.2 The Problem of Ideological Content 3.2.3 The Problem of Emotions 3.3 Chapter Conclusions 4 Deprivation, Hazards, and Religious Revivals 4.1 The Deprivation Theory 4.2 The Hazard-Precaution System 4.3 Religion as a Survival Strategy 4.4 Collapse and Revival in a Simulated Social Network 4.5 Kinds of Revivals and Cultural Inertia 4.6 Chapter Conclusions 5 Revivalism in early Nineteenth Century Finland 5.1 Revivalism as Homogeneous Phenomena 5.2 The Socioeconomic Context 5.2.1 Land Reforms and Growth of the Agrarian Populace 5.2.2 Rigid Economic System under Mercantilism 5.2.3 Clergy and the Conventicle Placard 5.3 Three Revivals 5.3.1 The Jumping Revival 5.3.2 The Kuortane Revival 5.3.3 Ostrobothnian Skörts 6 From the Deprived to the Revived: A Self-Organizatory Process 6.1 Social Composition of the Revived 6.1.1 The Jumping Revival 6.1.2 The Kuortane Revival 6.1.3 Ostrobothnian Skörts 6.1.4 Comparison of Social Profiles 6.2 Self-Organization among the Revived 6.2.1 Behavioral Requirements and Group Demarcation 6.2.2 Emotional Signaling 6.2.3 Evidence of Norm Observance and Cohesion 7 Discussion and Conclusions 7.1 Summary: Beyond Sociohistorical Explanations 7.1.1 Who Had Cause to Communicate Commitment? 7.1.2 Was Joining a Revival Costly? 7.1.3 Were Conventicles Rituals? 7.1.4 Was the God of the Revived a Moralist? 7.1.5 Finnish Revivals as Cultural Group Selection 7.2 Future Research 7.2.1 Reinvestigating the Role of Religious Leadership 7.2.2 Simulation Experiments and Religions as Complex Adaptive Systems 7.2.3 Revival Movements’ Divergent Trajectories 7.2.4 Revivals and Enclosures 8 Sources 9 References Index