Why do we believe?

13:28 Thu 21 February 2008

Marx called it 'the opium of the people'. Ron 'cunning old Scientology guru' Hubbard was less metaphorical. "Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous, If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." Milking at the udders of the religious cash cow were we Ron?

But what Karl and Ron never quite figured out was why ordinary people actually buy in to religion in the first place. That is when all the signs point to it being, well....a bit made up. Multiple gods, water walking and reincarnation. If a guy down the pub told us the same stories, he'd get pretty short thrift!

So a team of British researchers are limbering up for some serious head scratching in answer to this slippery fish. Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, (ex banker John believes in science, not god), the brainy team will spend 3 years and 2 million pounds coming up with answers. First morsel under the microscope will be the evolutionary benefits of religion, which suggest the better behaved (i.e more religious) a society - the less likely it is to get totally wiped out. Not a bad opening gambit.

The clever people will also be trying to figure out where we go from here. What with religion losing popularity and TV being the new God. Does this mean only TV addicted societies will flourish in coming years? Lets hope so. Our little principality here at Styled Life would be safe as houses!

Image taken from Russell Higgs Flickr stream