Faith, as we report on page 9, is good for one’s health. It helps to relieve anxiety and stress, as well as aiding community cohesion and bonding. As Quentin de la Bédoyère explains, scientists across the world are confirming under laboratory conditions what many have always known: that faith brings comfort to the distressed, warmth to the lonely and courage to the afraid.
The ever-expanding data from the fields of psychology, sociology and biology suggest that there has never been a slogan less true than the one offered by the New Atheists: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”