#435 Christopher Kavanagh: Religion, Rituals, Belief in Japanese Society, and WEIRD Psychology
RECORDED ON JANUARY 26th 2021.
Dr. Christopher Kavanagh is an associate professor in the College of Contemporary Psychology at Rikkyo University and a researcher in cognitive anthropology at the Institute of Cognitive & Evolutionary Anthropology (ICEA) at the University of Oxford. Currently he is based in Japan where he conducts research in collaboration with Masaki Yuki’s Culture, Social Ecology, and Psychology Lab in Hokkaido University. His research interests include East Asian religions, ritual behavior, and the bonding effects of shared dysphoria. He is co-host of the Decoding the Gurus podcast.
In this episode, we talk about some topics in the cognitive science of religion, and WEIRD psychology. We start by defining religion, and talk a bit about its evolutionary and cultural foundations. We discuss how religion is practiced, and distinguish between orthopraxic and orthodoxic religions. We mention modes theory, and the best ways of studying religious rituals. We focus specifically on high-arousal rituals. We discuss minimally counterintuitive ideas. We talk about how relational mobility can explain certain aspects of religion. We address how people practice religion in Japan, and its supposed atheistic nature. Finally, we discuss WEIRD psychology, and the problem with distinguishing between individualist and collectivist societies.
Time Links:
Intro
What is religion?
The practice of religion
Orthopraxic and orthodoxic religions
Modes theory, and how to study rituals
High-arousal, dysphoric rituals, and identity fusion
Minimally counterintuitive ideas – are these the ideas that spread the easiest?
Relational mobility and religiosity
Does the cognitive science of religion defeat pro-theistic arguments?
Belief and non-belief in Japan
WEIRD psychology, and the problem with the individualist-collectivist continuum
Follow Dr. Kavanagh’s work!
Follow Dr. Kavanagh’s work:
University page: http://bit.ly/3p5e9f7
ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/2KaEmdK
Twitter handle: @C_Kavanagh