The current era is sometimes described as a ‘post-religious’ one although for sections of the world this is clearly not true. In various parts of the world religious doctrines are fuelling wars as has been the case for centuries past. However, there are parts of the world, particularly the Western world where a move away from organised religion has occurred. We should be careful though to realise that a move away from religion does not necessarily mean a move away from the concept of God. Certainly a lot of people who have left mainstream religion are now searching for God in the ‘Self’. If that is the case it might be no bad thing because as a new study has shown, a belief in an all-knowing God can have some good effects.
The study was done by anthropologists and psychologists interviewing people from communities in Vanuatu, Fiji, Brazil, Mauritius, Siberia and Tanzania. The religious beliefs of these people included Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, animism, and ancestor worship.
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The results of the interviews showed that people who believe in an all-knowing God that punishes for wrong-doing are more likely to behave in a fair, or just, way towards distant and unknown people who also share beliefs about God and rituals even if they don’t belong to the same religious organisation.
A belief in possible divine punishment, it seems, can prompt cooperation and therefore supports key features of modern societies like markets, partnerships, and institutions. A belief in an all-knowing God can therefore support social stability and allow complex social organisations to flourish.
It is not the only way for social stability to occur of course, and perhaps the fear of punishment is not the noblest state of the human condition. Yet even so, a belief in God can have some fundamentally good outcomes.
