Here’s a quiz. In which book of the bible will you find the following prayer? Father I thank thee that in thy great mercy, thou hast taken pity on my great loneliness and now out of the silence of the night has brought two of thy lonely children together, and sent me a friend to […]

A cousin recently invited me to join an exclusive group dedicated to preserving an old family heirloom—our surname. This cousin is one of those relatives you usually only get to see at weddings and funerals, so the prospect of getting closer to my family’s heritage was irresistible. It promised both the recollection of old family […]

Less than a third of us go to church anymore. That’s what a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll reported. Only 29% of Americans responding to the pollsters say they attend religious services once a week or more often. It was 41% in 2000. Twenty-six percent of us NEVER go to church. Among people aged […]

For earthbound scientists, humans are creatures governed by brains, not souls. Conscience and morality are ignited by pleasure-inducing brain juices released during times God-believers might classify as holy—such as the love between a mother and child, or cooperation among neighbors. For Patricia Churchland (I didn’t invent that name, I promise), professor of philosophy and author […]