Why do we believe?

Robin Marantz Henig's article has truly been an eye-opening one for me. It posed many questions that I have never really considered before in my own personal exploration of religion and spirituality. In particular, there are several ideas, questions and examples that stood out as I was reading. After studying Dawkin's "The Selfish Gene" last year in freshman studies, I began to take interest in the sometimes unexpected evolutionary approach to why we are the way we are, why we fuction mentally and physically in certain ways, etc. I never once thought to apply to the function of religion in society, and I have found the research and theories we read about truly fascinating. I have often wondered what it is that keeps people believing in something that never seems to have much proof. We constantly dismiss the ideas of goblins, zombies, witches, magical creatures such as unicorns and centaurs, and other mythological folklore that has no true evidence of existence, yet most of America (92%) believe in some form of a supernatural being who watches over all of us, a god or gods of some sort. What creates the distinction in what we have faith in and what we refuse to believe? I believe it has to do with our quest to find comfort and reason in our existence and an explanation for our higher intelligence. We are intimidated by the thought of what is out there and what we cannot control. By having the belief that someone is out there watching over and protecting us, it gives us that comfort and reason. When something goes terribly wrong, we often hear things like "God has a reason" or "Maybe it was meant to be". That type of consolation can often give people the motivation to continue when they feel like it's impossible. I also thought the comment about what we do and do not believe mentioned in the article was quite interesting. If things are too realistic, almost past the point of reason, we are likely to dismiss it (for example, the talking, flying, juggling, dancing tree). These strange things are found throughout different religious works, and I believe that they are used to help internalize bigger moral pictures. I believe that many of the details of the old testament are not meant to be taken literally, but instead used to help convey the traditions and beliefs of the religion. i'm sure this is seen in other religious works as well. We then see how these religious details and traditions found in religious works can potentially fill a more cultural role by instilling everyday morals in an individual.