In recent years, the complex interplay between religion, morality, and social complexity has captivated scholars across multiple disciplines. A groundbreaking new work, The Seshat History of Moralizing Religion, published by Beresta Books in July 2025, delves deeply into this intricate relationship by providing the first comprehensive, cross-cultural historical analysis of moralizing religion from antiquity to the modern era. The volume emerges from the synthesis of over a decade of extensive data compiled by the Seshat: Global History Databank, an ambitious interdisciplinary project focused on unraveling human cultural evolution over the past 10,000 years.
At the heart of this volume lies a critical inquiry into an age-old question: how have diverse societies historically conceptualized the supernatural regulation of human behavior through notions of divine punishment and reward? From the well-known frameworks of Abrahamic religions that emphasize an omnipotent deity judging human actions to karmic traditions in Asia that posit a recursive moral cause-and-effect across lifetimes, the book meticulously tracks the varied manifestations of moralizing agents in religious systems worldwide. The editors—Jennifer Larson, Jenny Reddish, and Peter Turchin—bring together leading archaeologists, historians, and anthropologists to examine this phenomenon not simply from theological or doctrinal perspectives but within the broader context of social and political development.
One particularly compelling insight from the collection is the challenge it poses to simplistic models that assert moralizing gods as initial catalysts for social complexity. Instead, the volume provides robust evidence suggesting that moralizing supernatural punishment typically emerged after societies had already attained significant levels of organizational sophistication. This is exemplified in the analysis of ancient Egypt, where inscriptions from the Old Kingdom period (c. 2575–2150 BCE) exhibit early concepts of divine justice through the principle of ma’at, symbolizing cosmic order and moral balance. These beliefs matured by the New Kingdom era (c. 1540–1070 BCE) into elaborate afterlife judgments governing the fate of the soul—yet similar religious formulations only appeared in many Eurasian societies during the Axial Age, centuries later.
The book moves beyond traditional Abrahamic and Asian paradigms to bring to light the remarkable diversity of moralizing religions and their underpinning supernatural frameworks. For instance, it explores the ancient Indo-European polytheistic systems, where gods often functioned with self-interested motivations rather than universal moral supervision, and where concepts such as oaths and treaties played an outsized role in social cohesion. These sacred promises, witnessed prominently in Greek mercantile and judicial contexts, illustrate how deities were invoked to enforce social norms and interpersonal morality pragmatically, rather than embodying abstract moral principles.
Perhaps most striking is the treatment of non-doctrinal and indigenous religious systems within the Americas. Revisiting colonial-era accounts critically, archaeologist R. Alan Covey challenges long-held assumptions about widespread belief in moralizing gods among precontact Native American societies. His rigorous examination suggests these beliefs were either absent or considerably less developed, complicating the narrative that moralizing supernatural agents were universal drivers of sociopolitical complexity. This nuanced approach underscores the importance of contextual and culturally specific perspectives rather than applying a one-size-fits-all model of religious evolution.
The contributions also address doctrinal religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Manichaeism, highlighting internal diversities and temporal shifts within their moralizing frameworks. Contrary to simplistic views of divine punishment as the sole mechanism enforcing ethical behavior, the book demonstrates that ritual practices, institutional frameworks, and shared community experiences have often played equally critical roles in shaping and sustaining moral order. The veneration of bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism, daily prayers in Islam, and martyr festivals within Manichaeism serve as vivid examples of the ritualistic underpinnings that reinforce moral norms in conjunction with supernatural beliefs.
Another groundbreaking aspect of the volume is its use of data-driven methods integrated with expert knowledge. Leveraging the extensive metadata and longitudinal datasets from the Seshat Databank, the editors employ quantitative and qualitative analyses to trace patterns in the emergence, transformation, and influence of moralizing religions. This interdisciplinary approach not only enhances the granularity of historical understanding but also enables testing of scientific hypotheses about cultural evolution, challenging and refining previous theoretical models like those presented in Norenzayan’s Big Gods and Johnson’s God Is Watching You.
A key takeaway is the temporal disjunction between the rise of social complexity and the appearance of fully articulated moralizing supernatural systems. The book contends that while morally prescriptive religions do not appear to have triggered the initial formation of large-scale societies, once established, their institutional and ideological frameworks exerted substantial influence on imperial expansion, statecraft, and the stabilization of social hierarchies. This suggests a dynamic feedback loop where religion both shapes and is shaped by political and economic forces over millennia.
Editors Jenny Reddish and Peter Turchin emphasize the global scale of their inquiry, noting how it challenges existing Eurocentric and doctrinal-centric perspectives that have dominated scholarly discourse. By covering more than 30 world regions, the book highlights the tremendous heterogeneity of moralizing belief systems and their sociopolitical contexts, from ancient Hawaiian state gods to Aztec afterlife beliefs for warriors. This expansive scope invites readers to reconsider preconceived notions about how morality and religion intertwine with human history globally.
The Seshat History of Moralizing Religion also delves into the social mechanisms by which moralizing supernatural concepts have been embedded within broader societal practices. The detailed examination of oath-taking and treaty-making rituals reveals the sophistication with which religious ideas have been mobilized to mediate interpersonal and political relations. Observing how these practices persisted in various forms from antiquity through classical civilizations to contemporary societies underscores the enduring functional importance of religiously sanctioned moral frameworks.
Complementing this historical and cross-cultural exploration is an engagement with theoretical debates within anthropology and sociology concerning the origins and functions of religion. The collected essays collectively propose that moralizing religion is neither monolithic nor static but rather a flexible cultural adaptation that has co-evolved with shifts in societal scale, social complexity, and political economy. Such a perspective paves the way for new hypotheses about the contingencies of religious change and offers methodological innovations for future research.
In essence, The Seshat History of Moralizing Religion redefines the frontier of scholarship on the evolution of religion and morality by blending rigorous empirical research with broad theoretical vision. It transcends disciplinary boundaries to present a richly textured, historically informed narrative of how moralizing beliefs and practices have intersected with human social development. For anyone interested in understanding the deep roots of religion’s moral dimensions and their implications for human societies past and present, this volume provides an indispensable resource grounded in scientific inquiry and comprehensive historical analysis.
Subject of Research: The historical and comparative development of moralizing religion and its role in social complexity.
Article Title: The Seshat History of Moralizing Religion: A Comprehensive Exploration of Divine Morality Across Cultures
News Publication Date: July 21, 2025
Web References:
- The Seshat History of Moralizing Religion – Beresta Books
- Seshat: Global History Databank
- Complexity Science Hub (CSH)
References:
- Turchin, P., et al. (2022). “Moralizing Gods and Social Complexity.” Paper link
- Norenzayan, A. (2013). Big Gods. Princeton University Press.
- Johnson, D. D. P. (2015). God Is Watching You. Oxford University Press.
Image Credits: Beresta Books
