First for some figures. Last year, an ICM poll found 85% of Americans believe that God created the universe. In Nigeria, 98% claimed always to have believed in God, while nine out of 10 Indonesians said they would die for their God or religious beliefs. Last month, a survey by the market research bureau of Ireland found 87% of the population believe in God. Rather than rocking their faith, 19% said tragedies such as the Asian tsunami, which killed 300,000 people, bolstered their belief. Polls have their faults, but if the figures are even remotely right they illustrate the prevalence of faith in the modern world.
Further reading
Darwin's Cathedral , University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0226901351
David Sloan-Wilson argues religion is evolution at work
Religion Explained ,Vintage, ISBN 0099282763
Pascal Boyer on religion as a tool for social integrity
Brain-wise Bradford Book, ISBN 026203301
Patricia Smith Churchland on the neural basis of religion
What Is Good? ,Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN 0297841327
AC Grayling on humanity's search for a moral code
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