There was an interesting article by Andrian Kreye in the Edge this week on religion and reason.  Specifically it discusses some of the scientific research into faith that has been going on and has been mostly ignored by the “militant atheists” Harris, Dawkins, and Dennett.  Kreye discusses research by Scott Atran, who wondered what benefit religion had that made us pay such a cost in time and effort and lives to try to overpower rational explanations.  His conclusion is that religion must have had some evolutionary benefits such as the closer communities it can build.  Justin Barrett has done research showing that faith may be important developmentally, as small children have unwavering faith in their mother’s infallibility when they are young.

I thought the most interesting part of the article was its conclusion, which said:

“One advantage faith has over atheism is that it offers hope for an afterlife. Thus far, we have found only religious answers to assuage the fear of death. It always comes down to a choice between delusion and reality. Reality just may make you love your life so much more.”

This echoes something I have tried to say in previous blog posts on religion but I don’t think I was ever able to state it as clearly or eloquently as this.  It may be more difficult to accept the shortness of our lives than the afterlife promised by religions but I think understanding reality allows us to appreciate and live our lives that much better than living it for some supposed afterlife.