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—that is, consistency between raters in scoring—above 90 percent, more than acceptable in social science research. For example, for the more-frequent answer for why people believe in God—“Good design/natural beauty/perfection/complexity of the world or universe–—the interrater agreement was 91.4 percent; for the number-one answer for why other people believe in God—“It is comforting, relieving, consoling, gives meaning and purpose to life”—the interrater agreement was 98.4 percent.

WHY PEOPLE BELIEVE IN GOD

1. Good design/natural beauty/perfection/complexity of the world or universe (28.6 percent).

2. Experience of God in everyday life/God is in us (20.6 percent).

3. It is comforting, relieving, consoling, gives meaning and purpose to life (10.3 percent).

4. The Bible says so (9.8 percent).

5. Just because/faith/need to believe in something (8.2 percent).

6. Raised to believe in God (7.2 percent).

7. God answers prayers (6.4 percent).

8. Without God there would be no morality (4.0 percent).

9. God has a plan for the world, history, destiny, and us (3.8 percent).

10. To account for good and avenge evil in the world (1.0 percent).

Cumulative total: 99.8 percent. Other answers that did not seem to fit into any category (and too few in number to justify a category of their own) included “because God is most powerful,” “because He loves us,” “the Jews survived,” “near-death experiences,” and “no other explanation.”

WHY PEOPLE THINK OTHER PEOPLE BELIEVE IN GOD

1. It is comforting, relieving, consoling, gives meaning and purpose to life (26.3 percent).

2. Raised to believe in God (22.4 percent).

3. Experience of God in everyday life/God is in us (16.2 percent).

4. Just because/faith/need to believe in something (13.0 percent).

5. Fear of death/unknown (9.1 percent).

6. Good design/natural beauty/perfection/complexity of the world or universe (6.0 percent).

7. The Bible says so (5.0 percent).

8. Without God there would be no morality (3.5 percent).

9. To account for good and avenge evil in the world (1.5 percent).

10. God answers prayers (1.0 percent).

Cumulative total: 94.0 percent. This question doubled the number of categories into which answers could reasonably be classified (compared to the first question), including (in order of quantity): “I don’t know,” “Jesus/God saved them,” “the culture is religious,” “fear of death,” “conversion experience,” “need to believe in an afterlife,” “need for community,” and a few unique answers including “stupidity,” “they are alive,” “because of the narcotic effect,” and “it is the right thing to do.”

HOW WE BELIEVE AND DISBELIEVE

THE VARIABLES THAT SHAPE OUR RELIGIOSITY AND BELIEF IN GOD

These graphs present the most important variables that shape our religiosity and belief in God, including:

1. Belief in God in relation to being raised religiously;

2. Religiosity in relation to being raised religiously;

3. Religiosity in relation to education;

4. Belief in God in relation to age;

5. Religiosity in relation to age;

6. Belief in God in relation to parental conflict and being raised religiously or nonreligiously;

7. Religiosity in relation to parental conflict;

8. Being raised religious or nonreligiously.

Scientists’ Belief in God and Immortality, 1916 vs. 1996

Skeptics’ Belief in God

General Belief in God

Religious Upbringing and Belief in God

Religious Upbringing and Religiosity

Education and Religiosity

Age and Belief in God

Age and Religiosity

Parental Conflict and Belief in God

Parental Conflict and Religiosity

A Bibliographic Essay on Theism, Atheism, and Why People Believe in God

I have been careful to document all of my sources in the text. For further reading in this area, I recommend going to the original sources, which I list in the Notes that follow this short essay. Not included in my analysis, however, are additional books that the serious reader will want to read. This list is by no means complete, but with these books in hand, and with their