The researchers of the new paper concluded: "Outward displays of belief in God may be viewed as a proxy for trustworthiness … believers may consider atheists' absence of belief as a public threat to cooperation and honesty".
Several of them noted that Whole Foods Market faces a broad array of problems, including increased competition from traditional grocers, and should not be viewed as a proxy for the whole industry.
In the old days, before investors became entranced with the new economy and figured the old industrial economy was boring, 3M was viewed as a proxy for the gross national product.
Researchers say they participate in the process in large part because the imprimatur of highly selective journals like Science, Nature and Cell has come to be viewed as a proxy for quality science.
The city's rising number of homeless has come to be viewed as a proxy for dozens of seemingly intractable social problems in D.C., from chronic underemployment, low wages and teenage pregnancy to the skyrocketing cost of housing and gentrification.
