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Societies with less access to food and water are more likely to believe in an all-powerful deity, according to new research. 

The study uncovered a link between belief in God and other societal characteristics, such as a strong social hierarchy.

Scientists suggest that religious beliefs help people cope in inhospitable habitats.

A study suggests that societies with less access to food and water are more likely to believe in all-powerful, deities. Here, people carry bags of popcorn through a Christian cemetery, to sell in a shanty town in Lima, Peru

'When life is tough or when it's uncertain, people believe in big gods,' said Russell Gray, a professor at the University of Auckland and a founding director of the Max Planck Institute for History and the Sciences in Jena, Germany.

'Prosocial behaviour [actions that help others] maybe helps people do well in harsh or unpredictable environments.'

Together with other experts, he found that communities that believe in a high, controlling God or gods who enforce a moral code, tend to live in politically complex groups with a social hierarchy beyond the local community - and often tend to animals.

While the emergence of religion has long been explained as a result of either culture or environmental factors, the study by the National Evolutionary Synthesis Centre (Nescent) in Durham, North Carolina, implies that it arises from a mixture of ecological, historical, and cultural factors.

'When life is tough or when it's uncertain, people believe in big gods,' said Russell Gray, a professor at the University of Auckland. Here, devotees prepare ritual rice dishes to offer to the Hindu sun god as they attend Pongal celebrations, at a slum in Mumbai

'When researchers discuss the forces that shaped human history, there is considerable disagreement as to whether our behaviour is primarily determined by culture or by the environment," said primary author Carlos Botero, of North Carolina State University.

'We wanted to throw away all preconceived notions regarding these processes and look at all the potential drivers together to see how different aspects of the human experience may have contributed to the behavioural patterns we see today.'

The study, published in PNAS, took into account variables associated with the environment, history, and culture and involved experts in biology, ecology, linguistics, anthropology, and theology.

It began when evolutionary ecologist Dr Botero plotted ethnographic data of societies that believe in moralising, high gods and found that their global distribution is quite similar to a map of cooperative breeding in birds.

He took the link to mean that ecological factors must play a part in the spread of religion, and another study has recently found a connection between a belief in moralising gods and group cooperation.

Professor Gray said: 'Although some aspects of religion appear maladaptive, the near universal prevalence of religion suggests that there's got to be some adaptive value and by looking at how these things vary ecologically, we get some insight.' 

While the emergence of religion has long been explained as a result of either culture or environmental factors, the study implies that it arises from a mixture of ecological, historical, and cultural factors. Here, Muslims on the outskirts of New Delhi participate in Friday prayers at a slum area during the holy month of Ramadan

The team used historical, social, and ecological data, such as plant growth, rain and temperature, for 583 societies to illustrate the multifaceted relationship between belief in moralising, high gods and external variables.

They used the Ethograhic Atlas, which was collated during the last century, to pinpoint communities around the world and access data about religious beliefs, agriculture, and animal husbandry.

'The goal became not just to look at the ecological variables, but to look at the whole thing. 

'Once we accounted for as many other factors as we could, we wanted to see if we could still detect an environmental effect,' Dr Botero said.

'The overall picture is that these beliefs are ultimately shaped by a combination of historical, ecological, and social factors.'

Dr Botero believes that this study is just the tip of the iceberg in examining human behaviour from a cross-disciplinary standpoint.

The team plans to further their study by exploring the processes that have influenced the evolution of other human behaviours including taboos, circumcision, and the modification of natural habitats. 

THINKING ABOUT DEATH MAKES US MORE GENEROUS 

Being reminded of our own mortality makes us more generous - a phenomenon known as The Scrooge Effect, after the Dickens character (shown)

Being reminded of our own mortality makes us more generous, according to a new study.

It also boosts the feeling of pleasure we get from doing a good deed.

'Acting pro-socially in the face of mortality thoughts effectively soothes death anxiety, and in turn produces psychological satisfaction,' researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison wrote in a study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

The study builds on the terror management theory, which says that humans deal with our fear of death by believing in an afterlife or devoting our lives to a cause that will live on, Pacific Standard reported.

Previous work found that Americans reminded of their own mortaility gave more money to a charity that said it would help people in the country, than one that had an international focus.

It suggested that thoughts of death made people strengthen their beliefs - such as allegiance to a religion or country – and is known as The Scrooge Effect.

The new study included an experiment, where people were asked to split $8 between themselves and a stranger, while reporting their own satisfaction.

Before this, Polish student participants were asked to fill out a survey about death, or dealing with a trip to the dentists, then complete a crossword.

The researchers found that volunteers who had previously thought about death gave more money to the stranger and said they felt happier doing it.

The experiment seems to bolster The Scrooge Effect and suggests that reinforcing a person's self-image of being generous, or supporting a cause, are effective ways of managing fear of dying.