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why we believe in god(s) A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., MD with Clare Aukofer Foreword by Richard Dawkins Advance Praise “As an amateur woodworker, I can state from experience that there’s nothing like having the right tools for the job you’re trying to do. Here Andy Thomson and Clare Aukofer have assembled an oh-so-handy tool chest for the layperson who wants to think more clearly about the ever-less-mystical origins of religious belief.” —August E. Brunsman IV, Executive Director, Secular Student Alliance “Simply put, this book provides the most compelling scientific explanation for religion ever advanced. Andy Thomson and Clare Aukofer explicate precisely that evolved psychological and brain mechanisms combine to produce religious experiences, and show how religious leaders exploit these mechanisms, sometimes with disastrous results. The book is fascinating from start to finish. It’s at the top of my ‘most highly recommended books’ for 2011.” —David M. Buss, author of Evolutionary Psychology: The New Science of the Mind “Despite all the advancements we have made in science, technology, and medicine, our Paleolithic psychology continues to drag us down into the abyss of archaic beliefs, blind faith, and tribal conflict. Andy Thomson and Clare Aukofer explain to us not only why the human mind is so susceptible to believing the unbelievable but also why we are willing to not only die for it, but kill for it as well. Read this book, and when you are done—send it to your congressional representative.” —R. Elisabeth Cornwell, PhD, Executive Director, Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science “As Andy Thomson and Clare Aukofer point out in this compelling little book, our snap judgments are ‘millions of years in the making’ and so is the human propensity to construct and to believe in gods. I know of no clearer or more concise summary of the various preadaptations that cause us to generate and sustain religious belief.” —Sarah B. Hrdy, author of Mother Nature and Mothers and Others: The Evolutionary Origins of Mutual Understanding “In my life I’ve seen how desperately we need rational thinking in public policy. This book, dealing with the ultimate issues, can be a framework guiding us to a more rational worldview.” —Sean Faircloth, Executive Director, Secular Coalition for America “How does the human brain generate belief in an invisible god? Spurred by his study of suicide terrorism, psychiatrist Andy Thomson and Clare Aukofer elegantly describe many innate capacities of the human brain to explain how we can believe in an unknowable phenomenon: god. The writing is clear, fair, deeply knowledgeable, wickedly intelligent, and full of new scientific facts about how the mind works. This topic touches all of us, from those who wait to pass through airport security to those who live under religious tyranny. Know thy neighbor and thyself; Thomson and Aukofer have given us a smart read.” —Helen Fisher, PhD, Biological Anthropologist, Rutgers University, and author of Why Him? Why Her? “Brain washed? Andy Thomson and Clare Aukofer clearly explain why we are so susceptible to religious belief. Priests, rabbis, and imams ask us to dance, and then seduce us—and it appears we have a hardwired vulnerability to the seduction. Why We Believe in God(s) is easy and fun to read (and it’s got pictures). No wonder so much of the world believes the fairy tales.” —Woody Kaplan, Chair, Advisory Board of the Secular Coalition for America, and President, Defending Dissent Foundation “A much-needed summary of current research on a fascinating question. Many theists ask how religion could be so pervasive if it isn’t true, and this book provides a collection of answers.” —Amanda K. Metskas, Executive Director, Camp Quest, Inc. “A stimulating and enlightening journey into the mind we all possess, a mind primed to believe. Andy Thomson and Clare Aukofer take us on a fast-paced trek from how the human brain evolved in a primitive world to how religion harnesses those adaptations in the modern world.” —Todd Stiefel, President, Stiefel Freethought Foundation why we believe in god(s) A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith