[popnfresh]

I believe that people need to believe in something larger than themselves. This has always been true. For millennia that "something" was usually a belief in supernatural forces, i.e., god or gods. But superstition, even superstition that billions of people hold to be true, doesn't make it true. Reason and science have long since debunked the traditional tales of the creation of the cosmos and the origin of life. Archaeological research and textual analysis have cast reasonable doubt on the provenance of every major holy book. This methodical dismantling of religion by rational people asking basic questions about the reality of our beliefs for the last 400+ years has elicited a shrill defensiveness and sometimes violent reactions from the defenders of these traditional beliefs. It's not easy for people to give up the cherished superstitions that form the core of their lives.

Today, we enjoy the fruits of centuries of open inquiry by unencumbered minds and most human beings are lucky enough to live in a relatively secular society where science and reason inform culture and public policy to a much greater degree than religious dogma. Science has finally replaced religion and I, for one, thank the forces of natural selection for it.