What are the reproductive benefits of the practice of 'one of the children becoming a monk and living single for the rest of his life'?
Reproductive behavior is a central activity in the evolution of living things, but various religious groups around the world require that 'religious people be single.' In a study of Tibetan Buddhist monks and their families, a research team at University College London on singleness in religion, which seems to be inconsistent with biological instincts, 'one of the children. The benefits of the practice of 'sending to a temple and becoming a single monk for life' have become apparent.
Religious celibacy brings inclusive fitness benefits | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Celibacy: its surprising evolutionary advantages – new research
https://theconversation.com/celibacy-its-surprising-evolutionary-advantages-new-research-184967
Until recent years, it was common practice for some Tibetans to 'send one of their young sons to a local temple to become a single monk for the rest of their lives.' For this reason, in some areas of Tibet, the state that 'one in seven born boys becomes a single monk' has been maintained for many years.
To investigate this practice, a research team at University College London, in collaboration with researchers at Lanzhou University in China, interviewed 530 Tibetan households in 21 villages in the eastern Tibetan Plateau , Gansu Province . Implemented. The research team reconstructed the genealogy of each family and investigated the financial situation and history of the family and who was a monk in the family. Tibetans living in these villages live by raising herds of yaks and goats and cultivating small lands, and their property has been passed down to men in the community.
Interviews and analysis revealed that men with sibling monks were wealthier and owned more yaks. On the other hand, we also found that sisters who have siblings as monks have little benefit. Regarding this result, the research team said, 'Probably because the brothers are competing for the property, land, and livestock of their parents. Since the monks cannot own the property, parents send one of their sons to the temple. , Ended the conflict between the brothers. '
The study also found that men with monk brothers have more children and wives tend to have children at an earlier age. This is in line with many reproductive benefits for parents, as making one of their sons a monk reduces children's conflict and leads to more grandchildren, the researchers reported.
To show that celibacy evolves as a result of natural selection, the research team considered 'a model for self-determination of becoming a monk' and 'a model for parents to decide to become a monk.' .. First of all, if you decide to become a monk yourself, you will end your life as a bachelor, so genetic adaptability will not be promoted and celibacy will not be born.
However, if the parent decides to become a monk, the benefit is that the other sons will be wealthier, more competitive in the marriage market, and have more grandchildren. 'This model shows that celibacy is much more common in this model only if it is the parents who decide it,' the research team said.
Although this study was aimed at Tibetan monks, it may be possible to find the benefits of celibacy in other religions by adapting a similar model of celibacy to different cultural contexts. For example, in Christianity it is customary for women to enter monasteries and become priests, which may be more common in parts of Europe where women's inheritance rights were strong.
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in Science, Posted by log1h_ik