WHILE many institutions collapsed during the Great Depression that began in 1929, one kind did rather well. During this leanest of times, the strictest, most authoritarian churches saw a surge in attendance.
It turns out that human beings have a natural inclination for religious belief, especially during hard times.
the more insecure we feel, the harder it is to resist the pull of this supernatural world
Religious ideas are common to all cultures: like language and music, they seem to be part of what it is to be human.
One leading idea is that religion is an evolutionary adaptation that makes people more likely to survive and pass their genes onto the next generation
helped our ancestors form tightly knit groups that cooperated in hunting, foraging and childcare, enabling these groups to outcompete others
they do not explain its origin, but simply how it spread.
religion emerges as a natural by-product of the way the human mind works
the foundations for our religious beliefs are hard-wired
clipped from: www.newscientist.com 
