HOW WE BELIEVE

"How" questions are supposed to be answered by objective scientific facts, whereas "Why" questions are often supposed to be matters of subjective meaning. Unfortunately "how" and "why" are frequently mixed up, and nowhere more so than in this book. It starts with some fascinating "how" facts about American religious belief. Only 17% of Americans were regular church members at the time of Independence, the number rose to 34% by the middle of the 19th century, but it is over 60% today. During the same period church membership in Europe has dropped. Shermer's explanation is that American religion operates in a free market, in contrast to the established churches of Europe. The free market in scientific thought means that while only 7% of top US scientists believe in God, 96% of ordinary Americans do, and even 45% reject evolution in favour of Creationism. Sophisticated European intellectuals may sneer at this, but Shermer has more to come. He describes a widespread belief that the Hebrew version of the Bible is a cryptogram which can be used to decode the future. It helps that Hebrew has no vowels. Most disturbingly of all , in 1997 a largely Negro audience to a Los Angeles radio station were convinced that a UFO "mothership" was hovering overhead. It was about to destroy white America so that the black man could assume his rightful supremacy. Louis Farrakhan, the Black Power leader apparently endorsed this belief. This leads Shermer to consider Millennial and Messianic cults. He diagnoses a special disposition of groups in crisis. They can be attracted to a belief that the present world order can be ended by a renunciation of all worldly goods. There will be a time of crisis, an "end of the world", after which those who made the surrender will emerge as the new elite. The history of religious enthusiasm abounds with examples. There are all the Millennial cults from the Middle Ages to today, and the 19th cent. Red Indian Ghost dance. The Jehovah's Witnesses have prophesied the end of the world 5 times during 20th century with different excuses each time it did not come off. In this list Shermer places both the career of Jesus of Nazareth, and his near contemporary Apollonnius of Tyana. Both awakened Messianic hopes amongst the oppressed peoples of the Roman Empire. In between these analyses of "how" , Shermer speculates about the "why". He is sceptical about a specific gene for religion, and considers the evidence for a "God" lobe in the brain not proven. Being a highly rational man he comes up with a highly rational answer. Shermer argues that religion is the product of the myth-making faculty of human language and culture. Applied strictly to the material world this myth-making faculty produces science. Applied to the rules necessary to govern an ordered society it produces moral codes. Applied to the problem of giving the whole of human life meaning, the myth making faculty produces religion. In many ways this is an unsatisfactory book. A detailed concern over graphs of probability correlation is only matched by the triviality of the conclusions. It seems that people given a religious upbringing are slightly more likely to be religious than those who have not. This is not surprising. There is no cross reference between the USA and other parts of the West where patterns of religious belief seem to be different. There are no parallel studies between belief in a personal God, as in Christianity, a transcendent God as in Islam and Judaism, and an impersonal Nirvana, as in some aspects of Buddhism. A key question is the difference between formal religious belief, and what Shermer terms "religiosity"; something that he detects even amongst sceptics. This is not followed up. It can be argued that Shermer misses the central issue of religion altogether. He assumes that religion is a social construct, but this construct is merely the outer envelope for inner personal experience. Gallup polls show that over 40% of modern Western people will admit to some contact with a power greater than themselves. For most this is a fleeting "blick" which nevertheless may transform their lives, though many do not connect it with any formal religious organisation. Seers, shamans, yogis and prophets have this "blick" more intensely. The outward personal and cultural expressions of this experience vary widely. There are many paths up the mountain, and it is a matter of metaphysical argument and faith that all paths converge to a single summit. But the mountain is certainly there, and religion is about our stumbling contact with it. This is not the scientific study it pretends to be. Yet in contrast to many a more coherent academic tome, it is provocative, interesting and a good read.