Collective Religious Rituals, Not Religious Devotion, Spur Support For Suicide Attacks
Thursday, February 19, 2009 - 21:35
in Psychology & Sociology
While the relationship between religion and popular support for suicide attacks is a topic of frequent conjecture, scientific study of the relationship is rare. A new study in Psychological Science has found that the relationship between religion and support suicide attacks is real but is unrelated to devotion to particular religious beliefs or religious belief in general. Instead, collective religious ritual appears to facilitate parochial altruism in general and support for suicide attacks in particular.