How Tagalog (Filipino) Linguistic Markers Affect the Perception of Supernatural Agency

This paper analyzes theories of supernatural agent (SA) attribution in the cognitive science of religion (CSR) and tests them through an online survey from 40 native Tagalog (Filipino) speakers who currently reside in the Philippines. Tagalog is linguistically distinct in that it uses linguistic markers (genitives; determinatives) to differentiate between human and non-human entities. Therefore, it provides a real language test case of how cognitive theories around human-like agency manifest in a particular intersection of language and culture. Results indicate that for native Tagalog speakers human markers are generally used for English terms for SAs, while non-human markers are generally used for Tagalog SA terms. Such findings support some of CSR’s theories but also problematize the more universalizing claims around cross-cultural supernatural agency attributions at the heart of certain foundational CSR theories.