Religion an effective tool for a more cooperative world

It wasn't hard to guess what was happening last Tuesday.

A crowd was swelling in front of the Mountainlair, and I knew from experience that it meant one of two things – either abortion protestors or the presence of a hellfire and brimstone traveling evangelist.

As I approached the scene, I heard the staccato call of a man condemning the vast majority of those in attendance to hell (though, he hardly stopped with "heathen" college students as I heard him condemn Mother Theresa to eternal damnation), and I had my answer.

The assembled crowd did not take kindly to Micah Armstrong's message and bombarded him with taunts and challenges.

They cheered his descriptions of their "sinful" lives, and a number of outspoken students shouted objections and challenges to his words.

Their reaction was hardly unexpected.

In my time at West Virginia University, I've seen a half dozen radical Christian proselytizers treated the exact same way. What struck me about this particular incident was the size of the crowd Armstrong attracted.

One doesn't have to be negatively disposed to Christianity to find the message of men like Armstrong distasteful.

Listening to his outrageous message and the equally outlandish responses of the crowd is entertaining and attracts many curious bystanders.

However, it seemed to me as if an unusually large proportion of the crowd was openly hostile to the man and for more than just the content of his message.

It was if he was being attacked not simply because he was radical, but because he was simply preaching Christianity.

My perception may have been just that.

There is some solid evidence that America is becoming a less religious and particularly less Christian nation.

Statistics from the American Religious Identification Survey show that the percentage of the United States' population that self-identifies as Christian has fallen 10 points, from 86 percent to 76 percent since 1990.

In the same time, the percentage of people who report no religious preference (a category that includes atheists, agnostics and a number of other groups) has nearly doubled, rising from right to 15 percent of the total population.

Many of my peers, having come of age in a time when religion is often associated with negative events like Sept. 11 and the sexual abuse scandals of the Catholic Church, probably see this trend as a positive development.

The idea that religion is more likely to drive barriers between us than draw us together seems to be gaining traction.

As a practicing Catholic, I do not share this view.

I think religion is often a positive force in this world and can continue to be one.

It is not, however, my personal beliefs that lead me to find the decline of religious affiliation in America unsettling.

My concern is of an earthly nature, not a spiritual one.

One of the auxiliary effects of religion, or at least the majority of religions of which I am familiar, is the fostering of a sense of empathy for other people.

Think of it as the "golden rule" effect – believers of nearly all major faiths are called to treat others how they wish to be treated. There is considerable power in this very simple principle.

It can be argued that it forms the bedrock of cordial interaction and mutual cooperation.

To better understand, you need a brief primer on what's known in economics as the "prisoner's dilemma."

It is a game with two options for each player – cooperate or don't cooperate.

The socially optimal outcome of the game is for both players to cooperate – society gains the most if both players cooperate.

But the dominant strategy, the choice that is rational for each individual, is to not cooperate.

Regardless of what their opponent does, the individual will be better off if they choose not to cooperate.

Life is frequently set up like a prisoner's dilemma.

Of course, the way to overcome the prisoner's dilemma is to learn cooperation, but the natural inclination for each individual to maximize his individual benefit is a part of human nature that is difficult to overcome.

An economist who studied this phenomenon, David Axelrod, discovered that people who play the game over and over will eventually learn to cooperate and thus achieve the payout that is best for everyone.

A religious background, of any sort, helps make a person predisposed for cooperation.

Christians who are told by their savior to "turn the other cheek" should be especially willing to set aside their natural distrust of human nature and work together for an overall better world.

I am not saying only religious people can learn to cooperate, only that it's a contributing factor to overcoming the most powerful human instinct – self-interest.

In a world that is constantly torn apart by disagreement, any advantage that brings us together is valuable.

I hope that what I saw outside the Mountainlair last week was not a sign that we are losing one of those advantages.