Crasses et Voluptés

Today on the show, we’re joined by Neil Van Leeuwen, professor of philosophy and neuroscience, for an epic conversation about religion.

We often assume that religious beliefs are no different in kind from ordinary factual beliefs―that believing in the existence of God is akin to believing that May comes before June.

Drawing on psychological, linguistic, and anthropological evidence, Van Leeuwen shows that these two forms of belief are strikingly different.

Religion as Make-Believe

A Theory of Belief, Imagination, and Group Identity

Neil Van Leeuwen