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14 - Simulating Religion

from Part III - Religious Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2024

By
F. LeRon Shults  and
Wesley J. Wildman
Edited by
Beth Singler  and
Fraser Watts
Beth Singler
Affiliation:
Universität Zürich
Fraser Watts
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

Simulating religion through computer modelling can demonstrate how fragmentary theories relate, untangle individual lines of causal influence, identify the relative importance of causal factors and enable experimentation that would never be possible (or ethical) in the real world. This chapter reviews the application of computational modelling and simulation to religion, presents findings from specific simulation studies and discusses some of the philosophical issues raised by this type of research. Social simulations are artificial complex systems that we can use to study real-world complex systems. The best of these simulation models are carefully validated in relation to real-world data. Multilevel validation justifies confidence that the causal architecture of the simulation reflects real-world causal processes, thereby delivering an invaluable proxy system into the hands of researchers who study religion.

Keywords

social simulationmulti-agent AIreligionethicscomplex systemsartificial societies
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Religion and Artificial Intelligence , pp. 241 - 256
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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References

Bainbridge, William Sims. 2006. God from the Machine: Artificial Intelligence Models of Religious Cognition. AltaMira Press.Google Scholar
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Shults, F. LeRon and Wildman, Wesley J. 2018. “Simulating Religious Entanglement and Social Investment in the Neolithic.” In Religion, History and Place in the Origin of Settled Life, ed. Hodder, Ian. University of Colorado Press.Google Scholar
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Wildman, Wesley J. and Shults, F. LeRon. 2018. “Emergence: What Does It Mean and How Is It Relevant to Computer Engineering?.” In Emergent Behavior in Complex Systems Engineering: A Modeling and Simulation Approach, ed. Mittal, Saurabh, Diallo, Saikou and Tolk., Andreas John Wiley & Sons.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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