Hmm, well I'm not so sure
Religion is so pervasive in society (whether it's there as a crutch or not), that there must be something in all of us that predisposes us to religious or indeed, generally irrational, belief.

We're not as clever as we think we are, or maybe it's simply a good evolutionary strategy to believe in "something" over "nothing".
( rofl harris, Wed 7 Apr 2010, 9:32, 1 reply)

Sure, our brains are wired to tempt us into believing...
and it is by far the easier option but now we have the intelligence to see beyond this primitive instict and there is no longer a need to invoke a religious belief in order to explain mysterious coincidences or devise a meaning for life.
The way I look at it is that it all came about because we are the only species who realise that we are going to die. To all other species, death comes as a complete surprise. The rest follows from an indignant disbelief that "this is all there is".
(karnuvap, Wed 7 Apr 2010, 11:22, closed)