A review essay on the relationship between religion and “prosocial behavior” reveals the power of guilt:
Humans are evolved to be acutely sensitive to our reputations as do-gooders in our social groups because this promotes strong cooperative bonds that help the species.
This psychological mechanism was originally unrelated to religion, the authors write in the Oct. 3 issue of the journal Science.
The review also shoots down the idea that religion is necessary to make people choose to engage in altruistic behavior — or do something that benefits others at your own personal expense. Religion has no monopoly on good behavior today, Norenzayan said.
