Would religion survive without promises of reward and punishment? Yes. Many argue that besides fear, heaven, hell, punishment, rewards; religion also involves: community, contemplation, heritage, ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Dimitris Xygalatas, CC BY Why do people distrust atheists? A study we conducted, led by psychologist Will Gervais, found ...

THE old humanity,” writes an historian of Islam, “had been killed by the new religion.” This is what always happens. True morality, the adepts of each religion tell us, is dependent on their ...

With his usual verve, Rodney Stark takes aim at the functionalist model of religion (“Why Gods Should Matter in Social Science,” The Review, June 6). Stark’s research methods are first-rate, and his ...

As inspired as the Constitution is, the Founding Fathers repeatedly declared that it would only be effective in preserving freedom if the people it governs are a moral and religious people. But who ...

Many religious folks argue that while science can explain much of the natural world, some issues are simply outside of the scientific realm, the classic example of which would be morality. The late ...

In this week’s JOURNAL, Bill Moyers spoke with author Robert Wright, who discussed his vision of how various cultures’ notions of God have evolved throughout history. Wright suggested that, at their ...

Do children need religion to grow into good people? Sixty-five percent of Americans think so. And even though younger adults have been leaving traditional faiths in droves, about 48% of them still ...

Each year that we celebrate Independence Day, we seem to be a less religious nation than the year before. This is an ominous trend, and we would do well to heed the wisdom of our Founding Fathers, who ...

1. In two earlier posts (see here and here), I demonstrated the extraordinarily contradictory positions taken by religions on every imaginable issue of human import, let alone the fact that there are ...

(The Conversation) — Why do people distrust atheists? A recent study we conducted, led by psychologist Will Gervais, found widespread and extreme moral prejudice against atheists around the world.

November 29, 2004 • The recent presidential election revived a long-simmering debate about the moral values shared by most Americans and how they are shaped by religion and politics. NPR's Tavis ...