WASHINGTON (RNS) — Reli-gious people are more helpful and generous than others — but only on two conditions, according to a new study published in the prestigious journal Science.
University of British Columbia psychology researchers Ara Noren-zayan and Azim Shariff concluded religious people act more kindly than atheists if they believe their acts will enhance their reputations among their peers. The second condition is being freshly reminded, in a subconscious way, of the existence of God or a supernatural being, the researchers said.
Religious people are inclined, under these conditions, to be more giving and honest than others because those who believe in an omniscient God live in the awareness that the Supreme Being observes their behavior and that knowledge affects what they do.
But once researchers remove the two conditions, Norenzayan said, “all of a sudden you don't find any differences between the moral behavior of religious people and nonreligious.”
Emphasizing he is not out to either defend or attack religion, Norenzayan said the Science journal article goes beyond mere anecdotes about religion and looks at the “hard scientific evidence” anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, economists and others have gathered the past 30 years.
“The debate has been so polarized in the past,” Norenzayan said.
“All I want is for scientists to set aside their likes and dislikes and look at the empirical data.”
Norenzayan, who has gained international attention for his psychological experiments into how religion affects the way humans act, said the five-page Science article does not necessarily contradict those who argue religion exacerbates conflict between cultures.
That's because the UBC researchers discovered in their survey of all the research available that religious people often are more generous and helpful (or “pro-social”) to members of their own religion — not necessarily to outsiders.
The scholarly article, titled “The Origin and Evolution of Religious Prosociality,” shows that, while it has helped create moral behavior, religion has no monopoly on producing honest and empathic people.
The beneficial role belief in an all-knowing, morally concerned God has played in history, Norenzayan said, is in some cases being replaced by nonreligious mechanisms — such as effective policing, courts and social surveillance.
Still, Norenzayan said, religiously motivated virtuous behavior has played a vital role throughout history, by encouraging cooperation among large groups of genetically unrelated people.