This paper proposes that the transmission of common religious
concepts-such as witches, hostile spirits, benevolent gods, and
ancestors-is facilitated by the trajectory of the human emotional
response. Because these religious concepts become associated with
existentially relevant components of emotional themes they are likely to
be internalized, recalled, transmitted, and institutionalized. Emotion
is here treated as an evolved, and universally inherited, social
heuristic that modulates interpersonal perception and action. Benevolent
and malevolent religious entities and associated practices are posited
as supernatural extensions of an imagined social world that is partially
predicated on, and made meaningful by, the interpretive and motivational
functions of emotion. While cultural psychology tends to focus on how
culture shapes psychology, this paper begins to construct a theoretical
framework that views culture and psychology as mutually constitutive.
%0 Journal Article
%1 ISI:000291980600006
%A Dulin, John
%C 1 OLIVERS YARD, 55 CITY ROAD, LONDON EC1Y 1SP, ENGLAND
%D 2011
%I SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
%J CULTURE & PSYCHOLOGY
%K anthropology cognitive constructivism emotions epidemiology memory psychology religion representations witchcraft
%N 2
%P 223-240
%R 10.1177/1354067X11398310
%T How emotion shapes religious cultures: A synthesis of cognitive theories of religion and emotion theory
%V 12
%X This paper proposes that the transmission of common religious
concepts-such as witches, hostile spirits, benevolent gods, and
ancestors-is facilitated by the trajectory of the human emotional
response. Because these religious concepts become associated with
existentially relevant components of emotional themes they are likely to
be internalized, recalled, transmitted, and institutionalized. Emotion
is here treated as an evolved, and universally inherited, social
heuristic that modulates interpersonal perception and action. Benevolent
and malevolent religious entities and associated practices are posited
as supernatural extensions of an imagined social world that is partially
predicated on, and made meaningful by, the interpretive and motivational
functions of emotion. While cultural psychology tends to focus on how
culture shapes psychology, this paper begins to construct a theoretical
framework that views culture and psychology as mutually constitutive.
@article{ISI:000291980600006,
abstract = {This paper proposes that the transmission of common religious
concepts-such as witches, hostile spirits, benevolent gods, and
ancestors-is facilitated by the trajectory of the human emotional
response. Because these religious concepts become associated with
existentially relevant components of emotional themes they are likely to
be internalized, recalled, transmitted, and institutionalized. Emotion
is here treated as an evolved, and universally inherited, social
heuristic that modulates interpersonal perception and action. Benevolent
and malevolent religious entities and associated practices are posited
as supernatural extensions of an imagined social world that is partially
predicated on, and made meaningful by, the interpretive and motivational
functions of emotion. While cultural psychology tends to focus on how
culture shapes psychology, this paper begins to construct a theoretical
framework that views culture and psychology as mutually constitutive.},
added-at = {2011-09-02T08:05:44.000+0200},
address = {{1 OLIVERS YARD, 55 CITY ROAD, LONDON EC1Y 1SP, ENGLAND}},
affiliation = {{Dulin, J (Reprint Author), 9500 Gilman Dr 0532, La Jolla, CA 92093 USA.
Dulin, J, Univ Calif San Diego, San Diego, CA 92103 USA.}},
author = {Dulin, John},
biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/299510e013386f4992c83b790990d5a51/karinnadrowski},
doi = {10.1177/1354067X11398310},
interhash = {1a3af92715fef5787b22b8372dde454a},
intrahash = {99510e013386f4992c83b790990d5a51},
issn = {{1354-067X}},
journal = {CULTURE & PSYCHOLOGY},
keywords = {anthropology cognitive constructivism emotions epidemiology memory psychology religion representations witchcraft},
keywords-plus = {{BELIEFS}},
language = {{English}},
month = jun,
number = 2,
pages = {223-240},
publisher = {{SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD}},
subject-category = {{Psychology}},
timestamp = {2011-09-02T08:12:17.000+0200},
title = {How emotion shapes religious cultures: A synthesis of cognitive theories of religion and emotion theory},
type = {Article},
volume = 12,
year = 2011
}