High levels of rule-bending in a minimally religious and largely egalitarian forager population

Our species' biological success is unsurpassed - an achievement largely accredited to our remarkable capacity to cooperate. Large-scale cooperation, however, remains a puzzle. Recent work suggests that belief in the existence of omnipresent and omnipotent moralistic deities may have contributed to the emergence and maintenance of cooperation in large-scale societies. This study examines the relationship between religiosity and cooperation in the Hadza, one of the few remaining hunter-gatherer populations in the world. Hadza were surveyed about their religious beliefs and participated in two incentivized economic games, designed to measure rule-bending in favor of one's campmates (game 1) and self (game 2) at the expense of Hadza living in other camps. Consistent with previous ethnographic descriptions, the Hadza engage in few religious practices and lack a strong belief in the existence of powerful and moralizing deities. The Hadza also show very high levels of rule-bending. There is, however, little evidence that belief in moralistic deities is associated with decreased rule-bending within the Hadza. Instead, the findings suggest that rule-bending for one's campmates increases as the proportion of kin in one's camp increases. Also, Hadza living in a geographic region close to markets and increased tourism exhibit greater rule-bending in favor of self compared to more isolated Hadza. The high levels of rule-bending and low levels of religiosity observed in the Hadza are discussed in light of the strong norms of sharing and egalitarianism that characterize their lives.