Our team collected data from over 600 people across three studies exploring the relationship between religiosity and charitable giving, learning how to help, as well as how religiosity affects decision-making in the health domain. Huge thanks to our dedicated research assistants who supported data collection and generously shared cultural insights, making our work better contextualized.
Members of our team were also happy to take part in a summer school organized by the Department of Anthropology from University of Connecticut, either as students or lecturers. Last but not least, we also had a chance to visit several awe-inspiring extreme rituals.
We look forward to analyzing the collected data and writing research reports from this year's expedition. Watch this space for news about those publications.
In a new study published in Human Nature, LEVYNA was part of a team lead by A.K. Willard, studying how witchcraft beliefs affect social norms and behaviors. Specifically, researchers investigated whether witchcraft is regarded to be motivated by envy and how this notion influences community interactions. The findings show that, while witchcraft accusations were common, they were mostly directed at persons suspected of acting out of envy.
In an ethnographic survey-based study published in the journal Religions, D. Xygalatas and P. Maňo looked at variation in motivations for ritual practice and how it relates to the socioeconomic status of respondents. The findings indicate that whereas people of lower socioeconomic standing address more immediate concerns related to material security and safety in their ritual practices, people at the other end of the socioeconomic spectrum tend to focus on the fulfillment of spiritual, social, or cultural needs.
