The researchers assert that fears of an evil supernatural power contributes to the 'behavioural immune system'—that is, it changes believers' behavior in a way that protects them from infectious diseases.
Factually inaccurate as these supernatural scapegoats may have been, they gave people a sense of control and a false belief that they could somehow predict the spread of the disease, the study authors argue.
A strong relationship between belief in the devil and disease prevalence was also detected in the survey. It asked the student volunteers to rate statements such as,"There are underlying forces of good and evil in this world" and"Good and evil are aspects of the natural world" in addition to completing 14 moral relevance items.
"Moral vitalism may have emerged as humans tried to explain the spread of disease and persisted because it conferred an adaptive advantage to groups who were threatened by pathogens," state the authors.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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