Ancestral belief systems and armed conflict

Presented to the Economics and Biology of Contests Conference • Vol/Iss. February 2016 • QUT Brisbane • • Published In • Pages: ??•
By Skali, Ahmed

Abstract

Does religion cause violent conflict? In order to examine this question, the researcher tests the correlation between occurrence of belief in a moralizing god and frequency of conflict events in sub-regional Africa, controlling for various geographic and biotic variables. A significant positive correlation prompts speculation about the theoretical mechanisms by which belief in a moralizing god, including unwillingness to compromise on sacred scripture and exclusionary group identity formation, could engender violent conflict.

Samples

Sample Used Coded Data Comment
Ethnographic Atlas (EA)Murdock (1959, 1967)

Hypotheses (1)

HypothesisSupported
Presence of a 'moralizing god' in ethnic belief systems is associated with frequency of armed conflict events (1).Supported
Documents and Hypotheses Filed By: jack.dunnington