In this special issue of Religion, Brain & Behavior, the Seshat team presents the analysis results from more than a decade of database construction focused on establishing the role of moralizing religion in the evolution of socio-political complexity.

The special issue contains two research articles reporting the results of extensive statistical analysis of data supported by 210 pages of detailed Analytical Narratives and 219 pages of tables explaining the Seshat team’s coding decisions based on these narratives.

P. Turchin, H. Whitehouse, P. Francois, J. Larson, A. Covey, Introducing a special issue on the role of moralizing gods in the evolution of socio-political complexity, Religion, Brain & Behaviour 13(2) (2023) 121-123.