This is why it so difficult to have an intelligent conversation about religion in this country.

About eight-in-ten Americans say that they have no doubt that God exists, that prayer is an important part of their lives, and that "we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins." But the intensity of agreement with these indicators of religiosity has shown a modest decline in recent years, after increasing through much of the 1990s. While overall agreement with the three statements has remained fairly stable, the number of people who completely agree with each statement rose during the 1990s and has declined more recently. For example, the percentage completely agreeing that "we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day" rose from 52% in 1987 to more than 60% in the 1990s. It now stands at 54%, down 7 points from 1999 and five points from 2003.

I do understand why this is so comforting to people, I just don't understand why they would trade their intellectual curiosity away in exchange for what are essentially children's bedtime stories.

But according to recent research we may be biologically wired by evolution to belief in the things we believe in. I am just glad that I was not born with the "religion gene".