2010/12/31 by Daniel M. Abrams, Haley A. Yaple, Richard J. Wiener +1 · 2 citations
Computer Science · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · Social Sciences · #Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Religion and Society Interactions #cs.SI #math.DS #msc:91D10 #msc:91D30 #nlin.AO #physics.soc-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.107.088701
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 088701 (2011) · 5 pages, 4 figures (with 6 pages and 7 figures of supplementary material)
arxiv created 2011/01/14 · openalex publication_date 2011/08/16 · arxiv updated 2015/04/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
When social groups compete for members, the resulting dynamics may be understandable with mathematical models. We demonstrate that a simple ordinary differential equation (ODE) model is a good fit for religious shift by comparing it to a new international data set tracking religious nonaffiliation. We then generalize the model to include the possibility of nontrivial social interaction networks and examine the limiting case of a continuous system. Analytical and numerical predictions of this generalized system, which is robust to polarizing perturbations, match those of the original ODE model and justify its agreement with real-world data. The resulting predictions highlight possible causes of social shift and suggest future lines of research in both physics and sociology.