Evolutionary Conundrum: Is Religion a Useful, Useless, or Harmful Adaptation?

Contrary to what one might glean from popular science news, traditionally religious people in North America areless likely, not more likely, to believe in superstitions. That is possibly because widely held religious views in North America tend to emphasize law-based explanations for events rather than chance-based ones. They are more likely to credit rational than irrational factors.

Law-based or rational explanations do not exclude miracles by definition. Miracles, if they occur, can be ac...