Social environments vary in the degree to which they favor certain meaning-making systems over others. In highly conformist social environments, religious meaning-making systems entailing adherence to doctrine might be particularly favored, because of the high degree of synergy between strongly enforced norms and traditions on the one hand, and such beliefs on the other hand. Further, individuals may calibrate their own meaning-making beliefs to those culturally-evolved niches. I propose examining these dynamics via cross-cultural research in Tonga and the Tongan diaspora to test evolutionarily-derived questions concerning meaning-making systems, social change, and innate psychologies. I will address both top-down and bottom-up influences on individual beliefs. First, the diaspora affords examination of the effects of changing social environments on conformity to tradition and doctrine, especially in when new social environments favor more individualistic and less conformist belief systems. Second, threat-sensitivity and negativity-bias may motivate embrace of more traditional norms and more doctrinaire religious practices. These innate psychological traits likely interact with the broader social environment to produce individual behavioral phenotypes.