I am sure it must be true that people opt out of the mainstream society because they feel that there are going to be no rewards for them, if they stay. – 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
If you want to change the culture, you will have to start by changing the organization. – 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
All of us in society are supposed to believe that cruelty to animals is wrong and that it is a good thing to prevent needless suffering. So if that is true, how can meat be acceptable under any but the most extraordinary circumstances, such as perhaps roasting the bird who died flying into a window? – Ingrid Newkirk