Robert McCauley
(Emory University)
(Emory University)
who will speak on:
Ritualized Behaviors, Moral Thought-Action Fusion, and Scrupulosity:
Religious Gadgets that Elicit Mimicry of Mental Disorders
Religious Gadgets that Elicit Mimicry of Mental Disorders
ABSTRACT: Continuities between features of experiences and behaviors associated with religiosity and with mental disorders are rooted in humans’ maturationally natural cognitive capacities. These evolved domain-specific capacities automatically address perennial problems humans confront (such as recognizing faces, processing language, and managing contaminants). Religious representations’ forms are unexceptional by-products of cultural arrangements that artificially cue these capacities’ operations. Both ritualized behaviors and moral thought-action fusion are cultural gadgets that domesticate and cultivate religious scrupulosity, i.e., mimicry of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. So, religious participants attribute undue importance to their thoughts, have an inflated sense of personal responsibility, and perform rituals urgently, repeatedly, and rigidly.