For some time I've wondered why the Abrahamic faiths have been such an outsized success, particularly considering most religions in history have been polytheist. Big Gods answered that question and more, showing in detailed steps (backed up with data!) why these religions attracted more converts, and how societies that adopted them outcompeted those who didn't. This book is a bit of a dense read if you're a layman, but fortunately Norenzayan has a patient way of explaining complex ideas. The cross-cultural comparison of different atheist groups toward the end was truly fascinating. ( )

This book deserves a short review if only to list the big ideas. The main thesis of this book is that religion has to be large in order to be trnsformative, particularly for civlizations. Norenzayan present a lot field studies to show how these eight propositions are useful, if not compelling.
1. Watched people are nice people.
2. Religion is more in the situation than in the person.
3. Hell is stronger than heaven.
4. Trust people who trust in God.
5. Religious actions speak louder than words.
6. Unworshipped Gods are impotent Gods.
7. Big Gods for Big Groups.
8. Religious groups cooperate in order to compete.
The author does spend time at the end of the book dealing with successful countries which have a low level of religious engagement (e.g. Scandanavia). And he parses out different sorts of atheism. ( )