Under Big Gods' Eyes. The Impact of Religious Beliefs on Altruistic Punishment During COVID-19 Pandemic

Federico Atzori (), Gabriele Ballicu and V. Pelligra ()

Working Paper CRENoS from Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia

Abstract: We investigate whether and how the "Big Gods hypothesis" influences individuals' punitive behaviors in response to non-compliance with COVID-19 norms. Prior studies have demonstrated that religious priming enhances prosocial behavior, with religious primes encouraging individuals to punish unfair behavior for maintaining their reputation with a supernatural agent. Our study uses original survey data from the USA to examine how the intensity of religious life correlates with increased punishment of norm violators. Our findings show that individuals who spend more time on religious practices, particularly when compared to atheists or agnostics, believe it is right to punish those who break COVID-related rules and are more likely to punish the transgressors. Additionally, we observe that believers in faiths like Islam and Catholicism exhibit stronger tendencies toward punitive actions than non-believers, though these effects weaken when moderated by other factors.

Keywords: Religious beliefs; COVID-19; Prosocial Behavior; Altruistic punishment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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