Programmed for Faith

I came across an article called, "The Science of Faith," by atheist Dick "Godless" Gross. Rather than describe it, I'm going to excerpt some of the main points.

humanity has a predisposition, perhaps a need, to believe. This craving is not universal but it is global and infects the vast majority of the species. ... While this view has been around for a while, it has been brought to the fore by the publication of the first papers from the multinational ‘‘Explaining Religion’’ project, centred in Oxford. Early papers from the research indicate that religion has evolved to help humanity in the collaboration and selflessness that underpin social cohesion.

He goes on to point out the other key findings of this latest research, particularly that education alone is not going to remove the impulse to believe.

why would anyone believe in the weird and the wonderful faiths around the world? The cognitive scientists tell us the answer – because our minds are designed to believe and they get a good dose of training.

It is a mixture of hard wiring and programming – the hardware (the mind) and the software (the education). ...

If it is true that the need to believe is hardwired, then the impact of external factors such as education and indoctrination one way or another are not going to remove it. I tend to agree with Gross that atheism will probably always be a minority position, especially materialistic atheism. There does seem to be a need to believe in most people.

Religious Belief Doesn't Actually Make You Happier

That's the essential claim of a new study just published in American Sociological Review. According to the research, which covers main Christian groups, the beneficial effects of religion are actually based on its social club aspect, rather than religious belief itself.

"Our study offers compelling evidence that it is the social aspects of religion rather than theology or spirituality that leads to life satisfaction," ... friendships built in religious congregations are the secret ingredient in religion that makes people happier."

This sounds reasonable but I think you need to compare results with non-religious people who also have a structure of close friendships somehow comparable to those existing among members of religious congregations. I'm skeptical that religious belief itself has no major effect. We know the power of things such as placebos. It seems likely that strong faith, regardless of its validity, might also have effects on a person which could be positive.