The Psychology of Believing
Given that humans are trained as children in superstition, like Santa Claus, spirits, Satan/God, etc. is it any wonder that the brain so often associates some coincidence of experience with something super or other than natural? Again, it is well recognized in extremist religions that the more educated one becomes, the more likely one is to leave the religion and its instruction. As it learns, the brain has more experience and ability to connect events with reality and reason than with the supernatural, which is usually considered an unknowable.
As we understand that the brain evolves along with the rest of the body, it is permissible to suggest that humanity may come one day to experience heaven on Earth if we manage to build the appropriate model. This "heaven" has no relationship to the Judeo-Christian-Islam teachings of heaven but refers to the condition which most humans say they would prefer to experience in life, as in peace and comfort. The closer we come to understanding the physiology and psychology of our belief systems, the nearer we will come to applying that knowledge to reducing the unnecessary friction between humans, specifically between secularism and theism. That can happen when humans learn the differences in natural, normal, and reality and supernatural, blind faith, and superstition.
