Explaining illness with evil: pathogen prevalence fosters moral vitalism

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Psychology
• Cultural Anthropology
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Background:

• Pathogens pose a significant threat to human health, driving the development of management strategies.
• Spiritual beliefs have historically served to explain and predict disease outbreaks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between pathogen prevalence and the development of spiritual beliefs.
• To examine the role of moral vitalism in mediating the link between pathogen exposure and conservative ideologies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of existing data from studies 1 and 2.
• Cross-cultural study (Study 3) involving 3140 participants from 28 countries.
• Statistical mediation analysis.

Main Results:

• Higher historical pathogen levels were associated with increased moral vitalism.
• Moral vitalistic beliefs were found to mediate the relationship between pathogen prevalence and conservative ideologies.
• These beliefs reinforce behavioral strategies aimed at preventing infection.

Conclusions:

• Moral vitalism may be an adaptive trait that promotes group survival.
• Emphasis on contagion concerns, driven by moral vitalism, provided an explanatory framework to reduce disease rates.
• This suggests a potential evolutionary advantage for societies with stronger moral vitalistic beliefs in managing infectious disease threats.