Good point. I would expect that religous/mystical societies work best (or only) when populations are insulated from non-believers, The study puts an economic spin to this idea. Accoding to the authors, religious societies work best in heavily agrarian economies. Indusry is, they say, a product of human as opposed to divine, ingenuity.

The authors contend that both agrarian and industrial societies retard (no pun intended, please) self-expression.

I have never met an elite bright enough to impose a culture, but the study may point towards the dynamic that reinforces one trait over another. Which my be the study's only value.

"It Can't Be Just About Us"
--Frank Schnittger, ETian Extraordinaire