Basic human psychology holds that there are two fundamental ways of human thought; analytical and intuitive. The former is a highly specialized process of tearing apart ideas and concepts, looking at the origin and their implications. The latter is also highly specialized in its own way, involving mental shortcuts and “gut” instincts. According to Dr. Ara Norenzayan, a psychology professor at the University of British Colombia in Vancouver, it’s the latter type of thinking to allows us to most readily believe in God, while analytical thinking actually seems to mitigate that belief.

It’s clear why so little of our knowledge of psychology has delved into the realm of religion; it remains one of the most sacred (excuse the pun) and defended aspects of human thought. So much so that to even consider it a facet of our psychology, rather than a innately held truth, immediately alienates wide swaths of our population. As a result, Norenzayan and his colleague, Will Gervais, decided to examine the connection between religion and analytical or intuitive thought to begin to fill this taboo gap in psychological study. Norenzayan acknowledged the danger in addressing the psychology-religion link, telling futurist publication io9, “I’m bracing for a lot of hate mail.”

I was sitting in a coffee-shop to avoid the inevitable housework and distractions of a morning at home, I grab a cup of Joe to get the synapses firing and sit down. I forgot my earphones, so my only soundtrack this morning is going to be the natural sounds of the shop, which is usually muffled conversation and the clink and drip of the baristas' work. However, this morning there's a new sound, the attention-dominating laughter of two young women that were making their particular conversation a public service announcement. Actually, more of a public missionary service. The two were involved in some kind of interview for a local church, with one asking questions regarding topics such as faith, loyalty, family, and Biblical "aptitude". Listening to the two talk, it was almost impossible not develop an opinion, and for a card-carrying skeptic like myself, I decided to write them down and post them in an equally public forum.