In the Big Gods model of the cultural evolution of religions, the focus is on belief in moralizing, punishing, authoritarian gods. Such beliefs solve problems that big groups face in effectively managing limited resources, controlling cheating, and helping to defend against out-groups. Norenzayan et al. are right to focus on this representation of deity, because when people feel threatened, they are more likely to represent gods as powerful and punishing (Aten et al. Reference Aten, Moore, Denney, Bayne, Stagg, Owens, Daniels, Boswell, Schenck, Adams and Jones2008; McCann Reference McCann1999; Sales Reference Sales1972). Indeed, Norenzayan et al. provide ample evidence that, in such times, people are also more likely to define exclusive group boundaries, endorse strict moral codes, and institute costly rituals in order to distinguish in-group members, thus increasing the chances of group survival in the face of harsh conditions.

However, the focus on big, authoritarian gods tells only part of the story. Religious adherents in every tradition also think of their gods, goddesses, and deities as benevolent – as a merciful God who heals, sends the rain, and blesses. Whereas authoritarian God representations in monotheistic traditions are more likely to be associated with aggression (Bushman et al. Reference Bushman, Ridge, Das, Key and Busath2007), militarism (Froese & Bader Reference Froese and Bader2010), and power (Johnson et al. Reference Johnson, Okun and Cohen2015c), recent empirical evidence shows that benevolent God representations are associated with a benevolent self-identity (Johnson et al., in press), the value of benevolence (Johnson et al. Reference Johnson, Okun and Cohen2015c), forgiveness, and helping even those outside the religious or social group (Johnson et al. Reference Johnson, Li, Cohen and Okun2013; Reference Johnson, Li and Cohen2015a; in press). Moreover, religious people often engage in prosocial acts as a result of intrinsic motivations related to their view of God as a benevolent role model rather than for the promise of eternal rewards or the fear of reprisal (Johnson et al., in press).

Although authoritiarian God representations may proliferate when groups are under threat or when social coordination is a problem, we propose that representations of a benevolent God are more likely to proliferate in times of peace or relative prosperity, when psychological motives turn to self-expansion. When resources are plentiful and there are not chronic concerns with physical safety, such environments are more likely to elicit positive emotions, to induce creative thinking, and to set the stage for making friends, enjoying the company of others, and building the social network (Fredrickson Reference Fredrickson1998). The desire to expand the self by establishing positive social connections is another motive for social interaction and, we contend, one that is largely overlooked in the Big Gods model.

Perhaps the crux of the matter is that there are also two sides to the metaphorical coin of prosociality – “refraining from doing bad” versus “doing good” (also see Janoff-Bulman & Carnes Reference Janoff-Bulman and Carnes2013). Norenzayan et al. discuss religious prosociality as involving many elements, including self-control, norm-compliance, inhibition of cheating, rigid authority structures, strong political leadership, establishment of hierarchical social structures, regulation of economic transactions, honest business practices, willingness to punish unfair offers, and an in-group bias that positively correlates with group commitments. Hence, the Big Gods model is, generally speaking, a social system that supports a hierarchical, ordered, market economy legitimized and supervised by a powerful, authoritarian, mean God and his emissaries. Prosocial religion, from this Durkheimian perspective, is perhaps better labeled as moralizing or social religion. Yet, prosocial religion can also be about individuals feeling connected with and caring for others (or the “Other”) as in the Jamesian and Buberian traditions. In short, prosocial religion can also be about altruism, benevolence, grace, acceptance, forgiveness, reformation, egalitarianism, ecumenism, universalism, and peace. These intrinsic and self-expansive values, too, have a place in the establishment of increasingly larger communities.

It is likely that authoritarian and benevolent God representations and their corresponding ways of being religious exist in every society, and their effects on that society are held in tension (Johnson et al., in press). Just as there are the nurturing and dominant, the self-protective and self-expansive, or the powerful and needy in every society, there are probably also the liberals and conservatives, the universalists and fundamentalists, the traditionalists and reformists. To understand the complete story of the role of religion in the growth and development of large-scale societies, an important next step will be to better understand how authoritarian and benevolent God representations might constitute a mutually beneficial or compensatory dynamic system that has facilitated human and societal flourishing through the ages.