Abstract:The article advances a political interpretation of ritual behavior in religious communes, grounded in costly signaling theory of religion. Both asceticism, often involving self-inflicted pain or severe deprivation, and ecstatic behavior, incurring considerable energetic and emotional expenditure, can perform the role of voluntary costly signals (VCS) – uncoerced displays broadcasting features that predispose the signaler to higher status or position of authority in the community. VCS, as all costly signals, he… Show more
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