Why We Believe (or Pretend To)

Science, reason, and democracy challenged God — yet billions still cling to religious faith. Here’s why.

This is the High Holiday season of Judaism, when even some secular people may find themselves engaged in some ritual whose meaning they barely endorse or comprehend — yet which they still feel compelled to honor. It is a season of introspection, of confronting the past year and imagining the year ahead. And as religion is the driver, it seems natural to…