Did fear of divine punishment encourage early human cooperation?
(The Christian Science Monitor) Unlike many animals, humans are part of complex social groups that extend beyond familial ties. But we didn't start out that way.
Scientists, historians, and philosophers have long puzzled over how we came to have such large, complex societies. Some researchers have suggested that religion played a role in connecting people.
In fact, belief systems involving an all-knowing, moralistic, punitive god may provide particular motivation for cooperation among people who wouldn't necessarily have reason to trust each other, according to new research published recently in the journal Nature.
