Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2004 - Volume 27, Issue 06  


Short Communication

Different religions, different emotions

Adam B. Cohen a1, Dacher Keltner a1 and Paul Rozin a2
a1 Institute of Personality and Social Research, University of California – Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-5050 abcohen@uclink.berkeley.edu keltner@socrates.berkeley.edu http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~abcohen
a2 Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6196 rozin@psych.upenn.edu

Abstract

Atran & Norenzayan (A&N) correctly claim that religion reduces emotions related to existential concerns. Our response adds to their argument by focusing on religious differences in the importance of emotion, and on other emotions that may be involved in religion. We believe that the important differences among religions make it difficult to have one theory to account for all religions.