{"product_id":"big-gods-ara-norenzayan-9780691169743","title":"Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA groundbreaking account of how religion made society possible\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHow did human societies scale up from tight-knit groups of hunter-gatherers to the large, anonymous, cooperative societies of today--even though anonymity is the enemy of cooperation? How did organized religions with \"Big Gods\"--the great monotheistic and polytheistic faiths--spread to colonize most minds in the world? In \u003ci\u003eBig Gods\u003c\/i\u003e, Ara Norenzayan makes the surprising argument that these fundamental puzzles about the origins of civilization answer each other. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSincere faith in watchful Big Gods unleashed unprecedented cooperation within ever-expanding groups, yet at the same time it introduced a new source of potential conflict between competing groups. And in some parts of the world, societies with atheist majorities--some of the most cooperative and prosperous in the world--have climbed religion's ladder, and then kicked it away. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eBig Gods\u003c\/i\u003e answers fundamental questions about the origins and spread of world religions and helps us understand the rise of cooperative societies without belief in gods.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ara Norenzayan\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691169748\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691169743\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/25\/2015\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 264\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 5.70w x 0.70d","brand":"Ara Norenzayan","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43990268772607,"sku":"9780691169743","price":23.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_e70e81dc-52eb-48bc-b6b4-bf0337707cf4.jpg?v=1683303889","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/big-gods-ara-norenzayan-9780691169743","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}