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Religion promotes a love for thy neighbour: But how big is the neighbourhood?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2016

Ryan McKay  and
Harvey Whitehouse
Ryan McKay
Affiliation:
ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, United Kingdom ryantmckay@mac.com http://tinyurl.com/ryan-mckay
Harvey Whitehouse
Affiliation:
Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, School of Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6PE, United Kingdom. harvey.whitehouse@anthro.ox.ac.uk http://www.harveywhitehouse.com/
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Abstract

The term prosocial has often been taken to mean nice or neighbourly, but many acts that further in-group interests are hostile and aggressive towards out-groups. According to Norenzayan et al., religion's ability to foster social cohesion within religious groups has been a key factor in the human transition to complex societies. But what are the prospects for nonparochial “religious prosociality”?

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Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e20
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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