Welcome

What if we understood more about spiritual practices that exist outside the sanctions of organized religions? What if there are important and intuitive spiritual needs that aren’t being satisfied within organized world religions? What if we could gain important insights from these “wild religions?” What if the ways in which religions address misfortune turn out to be a key to their success?

Projects

Ancient Architecture

The Comparative Study of Wild and Doctrinal Religion

We explore how wild vs. doctrinal religion shaped social ties to see if their roots lie in social benefits or cognitive by-products and how they might aid cohesion today.
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Misfortune, Cohesion, and Resilience

We study how people across cultures navigate misfortune—from disasters to loss—to understand its impact on social resilience and cohesion.

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Wild Religions and the Interpretation of Misfortune

We study how people across cultures navigate misfortune—from disasters to loss—to understand its impact on social resilience and cohesion.

Field Site Locations

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Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Dynamic Relations between Religious Traditions

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Tana Toraja, Indonesia

Understanding of and coping with the misfortune of death

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Siberut Mentawai Island, Indonesia

Explaining and contending with misfortune on

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Ritual Cognition and Cultural Adaptation

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