Enduring Shame as Costly Signalling

The Case of Public Confession of Sin According to Tertullian

Authors

  • Rikard Roitto Stockholm School of Theology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.17704

Keywords:

public confession of sin, costly signalling, Tertullian, shame

Abstract

This article analyses public confession of sins according to Tertullian (160-225 CE) as an emotionally and socially costly signal of commitment to a religious group, early 3rd century Christianity in Carthage. Here "public" means "before the community of believers" rather than "before society in general". What group dynamic functions did the ritual have and why did people accept undergoing the shame of public confession of sins?

Author Biography

  • Rikard Roitto, Stockholm School of Theology

    PhD Docent Rikard Roitto, Associate Professor of New Testament Studies at Stockholm School of Theology, has a special interest in using behavioral sciences to interpret early Christian and history. Roitto has written several articles on forgiveness in early Christianity, using recent behavioral research on forgiveness and cooperation. Roitto is one of the editors of The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Ritual (edited by Risto Uro, Richard Demaris, Juliette Day and Rikard Roitto, Oxford University Press, 2018) and currently part of the research project Moral Repair in Antiquity sponsored by the Swedish Research Council.

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Published

2018-12-04

How to Cite

Roitto, R. (2018). Enduring Shame as Costly Signalling: The Case of Public Confession of Sin According to Tertullian. Journal of Cognitive Historiography, 4(1), 60-78. https://doi.org/10.1558/jch.17704