Religion, group threat and sacred values
Sacred or protected values have important influences on decision making, particularly in the context of intergroup disputes. Thus far, we know little about the process of a value becoming sacred or why one person may be more likely than another to hold a sacred value. We present evidence that partic...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2012-03-01
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| Series: | Judgment and Decision Making |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500002965/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797695989418557440 |
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| author | Hammad Sheikh Jeremy Ginges Alin Coman Scott Atran |
| author_facet | Hammad Sheikh Jeremy Ginges Alin Coman Scott Atran |
| author_sort | Hammad Sheikh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sacred or protected values have important influences on decision making, particularly in the context of intergroup disputes. Thus far, we know little about the process of a value becoming sacred or why one person may be more likely than another to hold a sacred value. We present evidence that participation in religious ritual and perceived threat to the group lead people to be more likely to consider preferences as protected or sacred values. Specifically, three studies carried out with Americans and Palestinians show: (a) that the more people participate in religious ritual the more likely they are to report a preference to be a sacred value (Studies 1–3); (b) that people claim more sacred values when they are reminded of religious ritual (Study 2); and (c) that the effect of religious ritual on the likelihood of holding a sacred value is amplified by the perception of high threat to the in-group (Study 3). We discuss implications of these findings for understanding intergroup conflicts, and suggest avenues for future research into the emergence and spread of sacred values. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:20:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-73954c4768404b72aec553461ebce877 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1930-2975 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T03:20:11Z |
| publishDate | 2012-03-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Judgment and Decision Making |
| spelling | doaj.art-73954c4768404b72aec553461ebce8772023-09-03T14:02:45ZengCambridge University PressJudgment and Decision Making1930-29752012-03-01711011810.1017/S1930297500002965Religion, group threat and sacred valuesHammad Sheikh0Jeremy Ginges1Alin Coman2Scott Atran3Department of Psychology, New School for Social ResearchDepartment of Psychology, New School for Social ResearchSchool of Information Sciences, University of PittsburghCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique–Institut Jean Nicod, University of Michigan, and John Jay College of Criminal JusticeSacred or protected values have important influences on decision making, particularly in the context of intergroup disputes. Thus far, we know little about the process of a value becoming sacred or why one person may be more likely than another to hold a sacred value. We present evidence that participation in religious ritual and perceived threat to the group lead people to be more likely to consider preferences as protected or sacred values. Specifically, three studies carried out with Americans and Palestinians show: (a) that the more people participate in religious ritual the more likely they are to report a preference to be a sacred value (Studies 1–3); (b) that people claim more sacred values when they are reminded of religious ritual (Study 2); and (c) that the effect of religious ritual on the likelihood of holding a sacred value is amplified by the perception of high threat to the in-group (Study 3). We discuss implications of these findings for understanding intergroup conflicts, and suggest avenues for future research into the emergence and spread of sacred values.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500002965/type/journal_articlesacred valuesprotected valuesgroup threatPalestiniansreligiosityritual |
| spellingShingle | Hammad Sheikh Jeremy Ginges Alin Coman Scott Atran Religion, group threat and sacred values Judgment and Decision Making sacred values protected values group threat Palestinians religiosity ritual |
| title | Religion, group threat and sacred values |
| title_full | Religion, group threat and sacred values |
| title_fullStr | Religion, group threat and sacred values |
| title_full_unstemmed | Religion, group threat and sacred values |
| title_short | Religion, group threat and sacred values |
| title_sort | religion group threat and sacred values |
| topic | sacred values protected values group threat Palestinians religiosity ritual |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1930297500002965/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hammadsheikh religiongroupthreatandsacredvalues AT jeremyginges religiongroupthreatandsacredvalues AT alincoman religiongroupthreatandsacredvalues AT scottatran religiongroupthreatandsacredvalues |