Study Will Investigate Why People Believe In God
By: Web Producer
Updated: February 20, 2008
British Study Will Investigate Why People Believe In God
(London) -- The age-old question of why people believe in God will be the focus of a major religion study at Englands Oxford University, according to "Times Online." During the three-year study, researchers will try to develop "a scientific approach to why we believe in God and other issues around the nature and origin of religious belief." They will try to determine if belief in God has given humans an evolutionary advantage and whether faith is a byproduct of human characteristics like sociability.
Psychologist Justin Barrett, one of the lead researchers, compares believers to three-year-olds who "assume other people know almost everything there is to be known." He said while that childish tendency lessens as people grow up, it remains strong when it comes to belief in God.
The study also will explore questions such as whether the conflicts associated with religion are products of human nature, and whether belief in the afterlife is something that needs to be taught.
(Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions)
RNS-02-20-08 0254CST
