tion is a threat to me even if it only directly hurts someone else is some-
thing that most people grasp intuitively but cannot explain conceptually.
So the notion that blacksmiths or undertakers are naturally different is
particularly relevantwhen it explains why nonblacksmiths and nonun-
dertakers maintain a high solidarity that excludes these craftsmen, but a
notion like that is not the causeof such divisions; the interests of the
groups, seen through human coalitional thinking, are the main cause. In
this domain of social interaction as in others, people create powerful
notions of what groups are, to some extent because these provide a plau-
sible and relevant interpretation of their own intuitions.
To return to religion: I have tried to show that there is nothing spe-[291]
cialabout gods and spirits when it comes to creating communities or
establishing efficient levels of trust. But we cannot stop there, for then
we would have no explanation for the extreme enthusiasm with which
members of some religious groups offer selfless cooperation to other
affiliates and see members of other faiths as dangerous, disgusting or
distinctly subhuman. The solution lies in human capacities for coali-
tion building and in the flexibility of these capacities. The mental sys-
tems involved are not specially geared to religious concepts, but the
latter can in some circumstances become fairly good indicators of
where coalitional solidarity is to be expected.
This may be why many religious guilds try to emphasize affilia-
tion as a radicalchoice, not open to further negotiation. All sorts of
mechanisms in religious corporations reinforce this sense that one is
a member for good. Naturally, in most places the notion that there is a
choice is theoretical. That is, you do not really "choose" to be a
Muslim and identify with the Muslim 'ummaif you are born in Saudi
Arabia, any more than you have much of a choice when you identify
yourself as a Christian in the United States. But the point is that in
each case, you can vary the extent to which you want to declare this
identity and make it a source of coalitional commitment and coali-
tional benefits. Some people have a low-commitment strategy whereby
they accept to be members, pay the various taxes and perform the var-
ious services demanded of members, but that is more or less it. Others
choose a more involved strategy whereby they go further in declaring
their allegiance, often volunteer for extraordinary actions on behalf of
the faith, and get in return some goods, power, prestige and a guaran-
tee of solidarity from other members of the corporation. Others take a
still riskier path and are prepared to kill or to give their lives for the
group.
WHYDOCTRINES, EXCLUSION AND VIOLENCE?