@article {317067,
	title = {Belief in God: Why People Believe, and Why They Don{\textquoteright}t},
	journal = {Current Directions in Psychological Science},
	volume = {27},
	year = {2018},
	note = {<p>doi: 10.1177/0963721418754491</p>
},
	month = {2018/08/01},
	pages = {263 - 268},
	abstract = {<p>Belief in a god or gods is a central feature in the lives of billions of people and a topic of perennial interest within psychology. However, research over the past half decade has achieved a new level of understanding regarding both the ultimate and proximate causes of belief in God. Ultimate causes?the evolutionary influences on a trait?shed light on the adaptive value of belief in God and the reasons why a tendency toward this belief exists in humans. Proximate causes?the immediate influences on the expression of a trait?explain variation and changes in belief. We review this research and discuss remaining barriers to a fuller understanding of belief in God.</p>
},
	isbn = {0963-7214},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418754491},
	url = {http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0963721418754491},
	author = {Mercier, Brett and Kramer, Stephanie R. and Shariff, Azim F.}
}
