"Yet the Hadza are very cooperative when it comes to hunting and daily life. They don't need a supernatural force to encourage this, because everyone knows everyone else in their small bands. If you steal or lie, everyone will find out—and they might not want to cooperate with you anymore."

I wonder if this is why the rise of the Internet and the decline of religious affiliation are so closely related.

"As societies grow larger, such intensive social monitoring becomes impossible."

In today's society, we can shame anyone in the world we want in a matter of minutes using the power of social media. People themselves can enforce society's morals through shame. God may or may not be watching, but the Internet is always watching, and it never forgets.

It's an interesting idea indeed.

"They hope to show that the more omniscient and punitive the gods that people worship, the more money they are willing to give to strangers in their own religious community."

I wonder if people would be more willing to give to strangers if they were told that their name, social media profile, and donation amount were being put on a website for the world to see (and judge).