Whether ritual behaviour reliably predicts cooperation is hotly debated. A study evaluating religion and social links among all adult residents of two South Indian villages finds that religious practice clearly predicts reciprocal cooperative ties. Rigorous quantitative field studies like this are a powerful way to resolve long-standing debates.
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Bulbulia, J. Anthropology: Tradition's hidden economy. Nat Hum Behav 1, 0070 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0070
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0070