Who Needs God When We’ve Got Mammon?
From Dostoyevsky to right-wing commentator Ann Coulter we are warned of the perils of godlessness. “If there is no God,” Dostoyevsky wrote, “everything is permitted.” Coulter routinely attributes our...
View ArticlePicking Stocks? Count the Butts in Pews
Looking to invest your IRA in companies that take few risks while promising steady, if slow, growth? Just count the churches around company headquarters. That’s the conclusion of two accounting...
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Love Thy Neighbor? Not If He’s Different
Universal brotherhood and tolerance toward others remains common fare at Sunday church sermons everywhere, but does the message have any impact? Apparently not. In a new study drawing on nearly a half...
View ArticleAnd God Said, ‘Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff’
Numerous studies have reported on the health benefits — both mental and physical — of religious belief. But precisely why faith is linked to higher levels of well-being and lower levels of mortality...
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Benefits of Religion Limited to Fervent Believers
The benefits of belonging to a religious community don’t have to be taken on faith. Numerous studies have linked participation in a congregation with good physical and mental health, as well as higher...
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Religious Affiliation and Brain Shrinkage
Aging baby boomers are using a variety of methods to remain mentally sharp, from brain fitness classes to simply staying social. Newly published research suggests another, admittedly unorthodox...
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Conversion Therapy Fails to ‘Pray Away the Gay’
“Pray away the gay” joins other notable catchphrases in our popular culture and comedians’ repertoires, (perhaps like “wide stance” did just a few years ago.) This time it’s due to the efforts of...
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Distrust Feeds Anti-Atheist Prejudice
Plenty of people are reviled for their religious beliefs. But a lack of faith seems to inspire even more intense antipathy. A landmark 2006 study, analyzing data from a large survey of Americans, found...
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Do Atheists Have Deathbed Conversions?
Are there atheists in foxholes? That timeless question (the literal answer to which is yes) is a shorthand way of asking whether, when confronted by their own mortality, even nonbelievers’ thoughts...
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Thoughts of Faith and God Decrease Tolerance for Ambiguity
It’s clear that religious faith confers a variety of benefits. Being part of a community of fellow believers has been shown to boost both mental and physical health. But at what cost? New research...
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Atheists, Foxholes, and How Combat Impacts Religiosity
Ernie Pyle’s maxim “There are no atheists in foxholes” raises a couple of serious questions. Does being thrown into life-threatening combat really make one more religious? And if so, does that...
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Who Is More Likely to Lie for Financial Gain?
“Everybody lies” was the mantra of Gregory House, the curmudgeonly physician so memorably portrayed by Hugh Laurie. But being a man of science, the brilliant doctor might want to rethink that...
View ArticleAtheism Linked to Economic Innovation, Productivity
American prosperity is often attributed, at least in part, to the Protestant work ethic. According to this school of thought, our religion-inspired productivity contributes greatly to a growing...
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No, the Internet Is Not Killing Religion in America
Religion, goes the oft-paraphrased Karl Marx slogan, is the opiate of the people. Now, Wi-Fi is.This according to new research by Allen Downey, a computer scientist at the Olin College of Engineering...
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