Moralizing High God
A Moralizing High God (MHG) is a "morally concerned supreme deity" that monitors and enforces moral codes. [1] The term is syncretic with the LP term Church God
Syncretic Terms
Church God > Moralizing High God
Related LP Terms
Non-LP Related Terms
Moralizing High God > Broad Supernatural Punishment Hypothesis, Moralizing High God Hypothesis
Notes
Traditionally it is thought that MHGs are part of an Existential Narrative folks tell themselves to facilitate cooperation via the threat of horrific punishment, the so called MHG Hypothesis; however, research demonstrates thats MHG follow the development of advanced hierarchical societies. As Watts et. al. say, beliefs like these "follow rather than drive political complexity."[2]. This suggests the rather obvious, that MHG's are used to under pin political and economic hierarchies and authority.
Footnotes
- ↑ Watts, Joseph, Simon J. Greenhill, Quentin D. Atkinson, Thomas E. Currie, Joseph Bulbulia, and Russell D. Gray. “Broad Supernatural Punishment but Not Moralizing High Gods Precede the Evolution of Political Complexity in Austronesia.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282, no. 1804 (April 7, 2015): 20142556. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2556.
- ↑ Watts, Joseph, Simon J. Greenhill, Quentin D. Atkinson, Thomas E. Currie, Joseph Bulbulia, and Russell D. Gray. “Broad Supernatural Punishment but Not Moralizing High Gods Precede the Evolution of Political Complexity in Austronesia.” Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282, no. 1804 (April 7, 2015): 20142556. p. 5 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2556.
