THE IDEA OF GOD , CREATION STORIES ,

THE IDEA OF HEAVEN AND HELL

NIENKE MOOR

ARIANA NEED

WOUT ULTEERADBOUD UNIVERSITY NIJMEGEN

NWO-PROGRAMME EVOLUTION AND BEHAVIOUR

UTRECHT , DECEMBER 9, 2008

JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY : GOD MOLDED CLAY IN HIS OWN IMAGE , BLEW LIFE IN IT , AND MAN WAS CREATED

MICHELANGELO , 1508-1512 VATICAN , SISTINE CHAPEL CEILING , DETAIL

A CREATION STORY INVOLVING A GOD

THIS IS AN EFFORT IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION AND

IN GENERAL SOCIOLOGY

IN 1970 LENSKI DEVELOPED A GENERAL THEORY CALLED

ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM

EARLY SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION :THERE ARE NO SOCIETIES WITHOUT RELIGION

WHY IS RELIGION A SOCIETAL UNIVERSAL ?RELIGION CONTRIBUTES TO SOCIETAL

SURVIVAL

ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM PROPOSES A PROBLEM SHIFT IN

THE SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION

THE IDEA OF A GOD DIFFERS FROM SOCIETY TO SOCIETY

WHY RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY ?

ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM EXPLAINS RELIGIOUS IDEAS AS A BY-PRODUCT OF THE HUMAN TENDENCY

TO REASON BY ANALOGY

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY ACCORDING TOLENSKI , HUMAN SOCIETIES , FIRST EDITION 1970 , PAGE 134

FOUR TYPES OF REPRESENTATIONS OF GOD

THIS TABLE WAS OBTAINED FROM MURDOCK’S 1962 ETHNOGRAPHIC

ATLAS

A SYSTEMATIC CODING OF MONOGRAPHS

THAT REPORT FIELD WORK UNDERTAKEN IN PRE-INDUSTRIAL

SOCIETIES BEFORE 1950

IN THE STANDARD SAMPLE OF 186 SOCIETIES , SOCIETIES DO NOT BORDER SO THAT DIFFUSION

THEORIES ARE NOT APPLICABLE

ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM :

HUMAN POPULATIONS POSSESS TECHNOLOGIES ,

IN PARTICULAR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SUBSISTENCE MAKING THE

BEST OF A SOCIETY’S ENVIRONMENT

AND THEY POSSESS IDEOLOGIES , WHICH LEGITIMIZE THE USE OF THIS KNOWLEDGE AND INSPIRE NORMS

AND VALUES

AGRICULTURE AS SUBSISTENCE : MAN PLOUGHING A FIELD,

SOUTHERN CHINA, 1995

HORTICULTURE AS SUBSISTENCE : ONLOOKING WOMAN AND MAN WORKING A GARDEN WITH A DIGGING STICK,

WEMALE, MALUKU (MOLUCCAS ISLANDS), 1948

HUNTING AS SUBSISTENCE : HUNTERS AT THE KEI-ISLAND OF

MALUKU 1886

TYPES OF SUBSISTENCE :

HUNTING AND GATHERING

SIMPLE HORTICULTURE

ADVANCED HORTICULTURE

AGRICULTURE

INDUSTRY

TYPES ARE STAGES IN SOCIETAL EVOLUTION AND THERE ARE EVOLUTIONARY BYPATHS :

FISHING

SEAFARING

HERDING

ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM

THE HIGHER A SOCIETY’S LEVEL OF SUBSISTENCE TECHNOLOGY ,

THE MORE ACTIVE ITS GOD(S)

BUT WHY WOULD A HIGHER SUBSISTENCE TECHNOLOGY MAKE FOR THE IDEA OF MORE

ACTIVE GOD(S) ?

THE MORE THE MEMBERS OF A HUMAN SOCIETY INTERVENE FOR THEIR SUBSISTENCE IN THEIR

ENVIRONMENT ,THE MORE THEIR GOD(S) INTERVENE IN SOCIETY

THE UNDERLYING PROPOSITION ?

HUME 1757 ANTHROPOMORPHISM : PEOPLE MAKE GODS IN THEIR OWN IMAGE

DURKHEIM 1912 SOCIOCENTRISM : PEOPLE ARE ONLY CAPABLE OF

REPRESENTING THE WORLD AFTER THE IMAGE OF THE SMALL SOCIAL WORLD IN

WHICH THEY LIVE

CONTEMPORARY EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY :

PINKER’S 1991 HUMAN UNIVERSALS INCLUDE ANTHROPOMORPHIZATION AND METAPHORS

ANALOGICAL REASONING AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO WILSON’S 2002 BLIND

VARIATION

DAWKINS’ 2006 THESIS THAT THE GOD DELUSION IS A BY-PRODUCT OF THE

INTENTIONAL STANCE

TOPITSCH’S 1954 PROPOSITION

PEOPLE COMPREHEND THE UNKNOWN BY ANALOGY WITH THE KNOWN

KNOWN ARE VITAL PROCESSES - BIOMORPHISM

KNOWN ARE TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENTS - TECHNOMORPHISM

KNOWN ARE SOCIETAL ARRANGEMENTS – SOCIOMORPHISM

THE UNKNOWN : ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS

IF THE WORLD AROSE BECAUSE HEAVEN MARRIED EARTH,

THIS IS AN INSTANCE OF BIOMORPHISM

IF GOD CREATED THE FIRST HUMAN BEING BY MOLDING CLAY INTO A SHAPE RESEMBLING GOD

THIS IS AN INSTANCE OF TECHNOMORPHISM

IF GOD RULES THE WORLD BY PUNISHING EVIL WITH HELL AND REWARDING THE GOOD WITH

HEAVEN

THIS IS AN INSTANCE OF SOCIOMORPHISM

LENSKI’S TYPES OF SUBSISTENCE

LINKED

TO THE TYPES OF ANALOGIES OF TOPITSCH :

HUNTING AND BIOMORPHISM NO SUPREME CREATOR

FISHING BIOMORPHISM NO SUPREME CREATOR

SIMPLE BIOMORPHISM NON-ACTIVE SUPREME CREATOR HORTICULTURE

ADVANCED TECHNOMORPHISM NON-MORAL SUPREME CREATOR HORTICULTURE

AGRICULTURE SOCIOMORPHISM MORAL SUPREME CREATOR

HERDING SOCIOMORPHISM MORAL SUPREME CREATOR

OF COURSE , THERE ARE NO DIRECT MEASURES FOR BIOMORPHISM ,

TECHNOMORPHISM AND SOCIOMORPHISM IN MURDOCK’S

ETHNOGRAPHIC ATLAS

BUT THE ETHNOGRAPHIC ATLAS CODES THE PRESENCE OF FULL-

TIME CRAFT SPECIALIZATION - THE PRIME MODEL FOR TECHNICAL

ANALOGIES

AND THE PRESENCE OF ONE RULER - THE PRIME MODEL FOR SOCIETAL

ANALOGIES

ADVANCED HORTICULTURE MAKES FOR CRAFT SPECIALIZATION , AND

AGRICULTURE ALSO FOR RULERS

AFTER ADDING TO LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELS MEASURES FOR CRAFT SPECIALIZATION AND FOR THE

PRESENCE OF RULERS

THE EFFECT OF AGRICULTURE ON THE PRESENCE OF A MORAL SUPREME

CREATOR BECOMES INDIRECT

THE EFFECT OF CRAFT SPECIALIZATION IS

MORE PRONOUNCED THAN THAT OF RULERS

THE PRESENCE OF RULERS INCREASES

THE CHANCES OF A SUPREME CREATOR RATHER THAN NO

SUPREME CREATOR

GOD IN HEAVEN SITTING ON A

THRONE WITH A GLOBE IN HIS

HAND :

GOD AS RULER OF THE WORLD

CATHEDRAL OF GERONA IN SPAIN ,

MANUSCRIPT FROM 975

IF PEOPLE COMPREHEND THE UNKNOWN BY ANALOGY WITH THE KNOWN , QUESTIONS

ABOUT GOD ARE OFF THE MARK

A SECOND PROBLEM SHIFT IN ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM :

FROM QUESTIONS ABOUT GODS WHO NOW AND THEN CREATE

TO QUESTIONS ABOUT CREATIONS SOMETIMES INVOLVING A GOD

THE PREDECESSOR ON MURDOCK’S ETHNOGRAPHIC ATLAS IS THE HUMAN

RELATIONS AREA FILE ,

COMPRISING ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS

FOR 116 OF THE 186 PRE-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES IN THE STANDARD SAMPLE

WE FOUND CREATION STORIES

TO CODE CREATION STORIES , WE EXPANDED OUR LIST OF ANALOGIES

SANDAY 1981 MADE US DISTINGUISH MALE INFLUENCE MODELS FROM

FEMALE INFLUENCE MODELS

TOPITSCH 1988 MADE US DISTINGUISH KINSHIP MODELS FROM RULER MODELS

( BOTH FORMS OF SOCIOMORPHISM )

AND COBB 2006 MADE US BRING IN SPONTANEOUS CREATION MODELS

A society’s subsistence technology

Analogies in a society’s creation stories

Hunting and gathering – Spontaneous creation analogies, sexual reproduction analogies– Kinship analogies, female influence analogies

Fishing – Spontaneous creation analogies, sexual reproduction analogies– Kinship analogies, female influence analogies

Simple horticulture – Sexual reproduction analogies– Kinship analogies, female influence analogies

Advanced horticulture – Sexual reproduction analogies– Technical analogies– Kinship and ruler analogies, female influence analogies

Agriculture – Technical analogies– Ruler analogies, male dominance analogies

Herding – Technical analogies– Ruler analogies, male dominance analogies

POSTULATED LINKS

TESTING THE POSTULATED LINKSPresence of a female creator in creation stories of 116 pre-industrial societies according to the subsistence technology of these societies, percentages (absolute

frequencies in brackets)

Subsistence technology

Female creator present

Female creator not present

hunting and gathering/fishing

36 (15) 64 (27)

simple horticulture 23 (3) 77 (10)advanced horticulture

29 (9) 71 (22)

agriculture/herding 10 ** (3) 90 (27)

ONCE MORE TESTING THE LINKSPresence of a creator who is a parent or ruler in creation stories of

116 pre-industrial societies according to the subsistence technology of these societies, percentages (absolute frequencies in brackets)

Subsistence technology

Parent Ruler

YES NO YES NOhunting and gathering/fishing

41 (17) 59 (25) 17 (7) 83 (35)

simple horticulture 31 (4) 69 (9) 8 (1) 92 (12)advanced horticulture

26 (8) 74 (23) 23 (7) 77 (24)

agriculture/herding 13 ** (4) 87 (26) 23 (7) 77 (23)

Subsistence technology

Spontaneous creation

Sexual reproduction

Technical achievement

Command

yes no yes no yes no yes nohunting and gathering/ fishing

21 (9) 79 (33) 33 (14) 67 (28) 33 (14) 67 (28) 14 (6) 86 (36)

simple horticulture

23 (3) 77 (10) 46 (6) 54 (7) 46 (6) 54 (7) 39* (5) 61 (8)

advanced horticulture

10+ (3) 90 (28) 32 (10) 68 (21) 26 (8) 74 (23) 23 +(7) 77 (24)

agriculture/herding

23 (7) 77 (23) 13* (4) 87 (26) 30 (9) 70 (21) 30* (9) 70 (21)

ONCE MORE TESTING THE LINKSType of creative act in creation stories of pre-industrial societies according to

the subsistence technology of these societies, percentages; 116 pre-industrial societies (absolute frequencies in brackets)

REFUTATION OF HYPOTHESES , BUT :

TECHNICAL ANALOGIES APPEAR BEFORE FULL-TIME CRAFT SPECIALIZATION EMERGES

COMMAND ANALOGIES APPEAR THERE BEFORE RULERS BECOME

STRONG

FROM QUESTIONS ABOUT IDEAS OF

GOD IN PRE-INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES

TO QUESTIONS ABOUT

INDUSTRIALIZATION AND

SECULARIZATION

THE BIG ISSUE IN THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY OF

RELIGION :

IS THERE A EUROPEAN , AND PERHAPS WORLD-WIDE , TREND

TOWARDS SECULARITY ,

OR DOES INDUSTRIALIZATION AND DEMOCRATIZATION MAKE FOR

SECULARIZATION ?

EXPANDED ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM LISTS THREE CAUSES FOR THE DECLINE OF OLD

ANALOGIES

THE SHIFT FROM AGRICULTURE TO INDUSTRY ERODES SEXUAL REPRODUCTION ANALOGIES

AND CRAFT ANALOGIES

DEMOCRATIZATION ERODES RULER ANALOGIES

THE INCREASING TENSION BETWEEN THE IDEA THAT HUMAN BEINGS INTERVENE

MORE AND MORE IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND THE IDEA THE GOD INTERVENES MORE AND MORE IN SOCIETY

ISSUE USED TO BE STUDIED WITH DATA ON CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND

DATA ON CHURCH ATTENDANCE

NOWADAYS COMPARABLE DATA ARE AVAILABLE FOR MANY COUNTRIES ON

VARIOUS IDEAS OF GOD

THE EUROPEAN VALUES SURVEYS AND THE WORLD VALUES SURVEYS

THESE SURVEYS DO NOT EXPLICITLY MEASURE THE USE OF ANALOGIES

Representations of God, by country EVS 1999-2000 (in %)personal god abstract god agnostic atheist N

Austria 31.1 52.9 8.9 7.1 1487Belgium 29.7 36.0 18.1 16.2 1782Denmark 24.5 38.1 19.0 18.4 909Finland 46.9 34.0 11.2 7.9 964France 21.8 31.5 26.1 20.5 1528Ireland 67.3 23.1 7.1 2.5 959Italy 70.8 19.5 6.9 2.9 1964Netherlands 23.5 49.2 14.3 12.9 999Portugal 78.9 14.8 3.5 2.9 979Spain 49.0 28.3 15.4 7.3 1123Sweden 16.2 54.4 15.8 13.6 983Great Britain 31.2 40.0 17.7 11.1 857West-Germany 38.6 35.1 12.2 14.1 983

industrialization and ideas about god

industrialization

personal godpersonal godabstract god abstract / personal god

abstract god

agnosticism agnosticism agnosticismatheism atheism

atheism

% %

AN AGRICULTURAL JOB AND A HIGHER PERCENT IN AGRICULTURE MAKE A

PERSONAL GOD MORE LIKELY

MORE EDUCATION AND A HIGHER AVERAGE EDUCATION MAKES A

PERSONAL GOD LESS LIKELY

VOTING FOR THE LEFT AND MORE LEFT-WING VOTING MAKE A PERSONAL GOD

LESS LIKELY

BELIEF IN A STRONG LEADER MAKES A PERSONAL GOD MORE LIKELY

ECOLOGICAL EVOLUTIONISM INVITES A THIRD PROBLEM SHIFT IN

THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION :

FROM QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD

TO QUESTIONS ABOUT HEAVEN AND HELL

JEROEN BOSCH, 1510

THE HELL PANEL FROM A TRIPTYCH MADRID, PRADO

Religious acts and beliefs by type of society (%)

agrarian industrial post-industrial

eta sig

weekly church 44 25 20 .171 **belief in god 78 72 69 .016 n.s.

belief in heaven 63 45 43 0.94 *belief in hell 59 36 26 .228 ***

Norris and Inglehart 2004, page 57; data for 74 states from World Values Survey 1981-2001

BELIEF IN GOD IS LEAST RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY

BELIEF IN HEAVEN MORE SO

AND BELIEF IN HELL EVEN MORE SO

NORRIS AND INGLEHART HOLD THAT MORE MATERIAL SECURITY MAKES

FOR LESS BELIEF

BUT WHY DOES BELIEF IN HELL DECREASE MOST ?

AND IF RELIGION OFFERS AFTER-LIFE REWARDS FOR MATERIAL INSECURITY NOW ,

WHY DID PEOPLE EVER THINK THAT GOD PUNISHES PEOPLE BY SENDING THEM TO HELL ?

THE TOPITSCH-HYPOTHESIS :

IF THE UNKNOWN RESEMBLES THE KNOWN

AND IF IN DEMOCRATIC AND INDUSTRIAL SOCIETIES MATERIAL INSECURITY DECLINES

BELIEF IN HELL SHOULD GO DOWN MORE THAN BELIEF IN HEAVEN

Belief in heaven and hell by type of society (%)

belief in heaven and hell

agrarian Industrial post-industrial

belief in both heaven and hell

74.3 45.8 31.7

belief in heaven, not in hell

9.1 11.7 18.6

belief in hell, not in heaven

0.6 0.7 0.5

belief in none 16.0 41.8 49.2N 48297 77450 74093

WORLD VALUES SURVEY 1981-2001, 74 societies, own calculations

THERE ARE HARDLY ANY PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN HELL BUT NOT IN HEAVEN

AN AGRICULTURAL JOB AND A HIGHER PERCENT IN AGRICULTURE MAKE

BELIEF IN HEAVEN PLUS HELL MORE LIKELY

MORE EDUCATION AND A HIGHER AVERAGE EDUCATION MAKES

DISBELIEF IN BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL MORE LIKELY

VOTING FOR A LEFT WING PARTY AND MORE LEFT-WING VOTES MAKE

DISBELIEF IN BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL MORE LIKELY

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