Accidental Atheists? Agent-Based Explanations for the Persistence of Religious Regionalism

Abstract

This paper outlines a new approach to the study of religious commitment. Starting with a variant on Schelling's classic model of mobility and segregation, we develop a multi-agent religion simulation (MARS) that incorporates insights from theories of religious choice, social influence, and preference formation. Compared to standard statistical methods, MARS does a better job linking individual choices and collective outcomes. In particular, it demonstrates that stable regional patterns require a balanced combination of attachment to personal identity and adaptation to the social environment.

Keywords: religious regionalism, micro-macro, rational choice, emergent phenomena, social simulation, multi-agent models, agent-based models, NetLogo

JEL Classification: Z12, C6