Ancestor and sorcery beliefs and their effect on parochial prosociality in Mauritius
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2025 |
| Druh | Další prezentace na konferencích |
| Fakulta / Pracoviště MU | |
| Citace | |
| Popis | Mauritian beliefs about nam—the spirit of a deceased person— can take the form of either ancestor worship or sorcery, the latter being socially stigmatized and legally prohibited in Mauritius. Prior work suggests that sorcery and witchcraft beliefs may undermine social cohesion and trust, yet empirical studies are constrained by stigma and by limited comparison with other local supernatural agents. In this study, we examined how different modes of nam belief relate to parochial prosociality using the Random Allocation Game. Participants who endorsed a sorcery-oriented interpretation of nam and reported performing related rituals were more likely to violate game rules for personal gain than those who understood nam primarily in terms of ancestor worship. These findings extend research on the evolutionary psychology of religion by showing that beliefs in local, low- or non-moralizing supernatural agents can differentially shape cooperative behavior within communities, complementing work on moralizing high gods and their role in regulating prosociality. |
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