A seminar on Tuesday 25 November will discuss whether humans have an adaptive evolutionary mechanism that leads to the phenomenon of belief in God.

During the debate, organised by the Faraday Institute, Dr Justin Barrett will propose a pioneering argument: belief in God is a by-product of our mental architecture.

Although a scientific explanation of religious belief is often seen as a threat to faith, Dr Barrett will challenge this argument from the position that just because science can observe a phenomenon does not make that phenomenon less plausible or real.

Continuing this argument, Dr Barrett draws this analogy: “Suppose science produces a convincing argument for why I think my wife loves me - should I then stop believing that she does?”

Dr Barrett will use his argument to cut through both sides of the increasingly polarised debate about how the universe was created, with atheistic Darwinians declaring the death of God, whilst anti-Darwinian creationists denounce evolution as fraud.

Dr Barrett is a researcher in cognitive psychology at the Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University. His book Why would anyone believe in God? (AltaMira, 2004) presents a scientific approach to religious beliefs.

The seminar will take place in the Garden Room St Edmunds College at 1pm. It is free and open to members of the public.

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion provide accurate and up-to-date information to help inform and improve public understanding of the interaction between science and religion.
 

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