Did Seismic Activity Lead to the Rise of Religions?
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Did Seismic Activity Lead to the Rise of Religions? / Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding; Force, Eric R.
The Economics of Religion. red. / Robert M. Sauer. Singapore : World Scientific, 2023. s. 63-95.Publikation: Bidrag til bog/antologi/rapport › Bidrag til bog/antologi › Formidling
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TY - CHAP
T1 - Did Seismic Activity Lead to the Rise of Religions?
AU - Bentzen, Jeanet Sinding
AU - Force, Eric R.
PY - 2023/5/9
Y1 - 2023/5/9
N2 - We document a link between religiosity and natural disasters — earthquakes in particular. Using modern data from surveys, we first show that religiosity has increased in the aftermath of disasters such as earthquakes. As emotional effects can be analytically disentangled from those of physical destruction, we suggest that religious coping is the most potent link; people use their religion for comfort and explanation to match the other-worldly aspect of seismic destruction. Second, we show that the major religions of the modern world emerged in a remarkably tight band along seismically active plate-tectonic boundaries, suggesting the persistence of this link. Third, we show that the majority of known immediate cultural responses to historic earthquakes have been religious rather than secular. We conclude that religion tends to emerge as a response to the unanswerable questions posed by earthquakes, and other natural disasters, and as a provider of comfort to survivors. Earthquakes may thus have played a pivotal role for millennia in the emergence and persistence of religion.
AB - We document a link between religiosity and natural disasters — earthquakes in particular. Using modern data from surveys, we first show that religiosity has increased in the aftermath of disasters such as earthquakes. As emotional effects can be analytically disentangled from those of physical destruction, we suggest that religious coping is the most potent link; people use their religion for comfort and explanation to match the other-worldly aspect of seismic destruction. Second, we show that the major religions of the modern world emerged in a remarkably tight band along seismically active plate-tectonic boundaries, suggesting the persistence of this link. Third, we show that the majority of known immediate cultural responses to historic earthquakes have been religious rather than secular. We conclude that religion tends to emerge as a response to the unanswerable questions posed by earthquakes, and other natural disasters, and as a provider of comfort to survivors. Earthquakes may thus have played a pivotal role for millennia in the emergence and persistence of religion.
U2 - 10.1142/9789811273148_0002
DO - 10.1142/9789811273148_0002
M3 - Book chapter
SN - 9789811273131
SP - 63
EP - 95
BT - The Economics of Religion
A2 - Sauer, Robert M.
PB - World Scientific
CY - Singapore
ER -
ID: 396332764