I am convinced that living in an enclave shapes the personality, and living alone shapes the personality too. – Mary Douglas
If people want to compete for leadership of a religious group, they can compete in piety. A chilling thought. Or funny. – Mary Douglas
Real equality is immensely difficult to achieve, it needs continual revision and monitoring of distributions. And it does not provide buffers between members, so they are continually colliding or frustrating each other. – Mary Douglas
Religion can make it worse. Are you supposing that if people were encouraged to believe in a transcendent reality, and to be encouraged by grand rituals and music and preaching, to love their neighbors, then they would put jealousy and frustration aside? – Mary Douglas