Abstract
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.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 088701 |
Journal | Physical review letters |
Volume | 107 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 16 2011 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physics and Astronomy(all)