This website is a “living book,” defending RELIGION…
My claim is that REALITY is, in fact, “magical” and “ultimately meaningful”
If reality is ULTIMATELY MEANINGFUL, it is also NECESSARILY MAGICAL
The social-cultural systems that we call “Religions” are attempts to describe the magic and promote the meaning
I’m claiming that religions are NOT just wishful thinking, and that the MAGIC and MEANING to which they refer are REAL…
Unfortunately, this site is still being written — and re-written
No telling how often It has been — and will be – revised
I’m almost 84 years old, and no telling if it will ever be finished
Or, how often I’ll repeat myself
If and when I think that it’s ready to be read by others on the internet, I’ll start advertising
I think that it COULD be very important.
Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.… Wikipedia
It is easy to conclude that religious belief is simply WISHFUL THINKING
to be truly happy, we humans need to believe in immortality and ultimate meaning
Religions support such beliefs — sciences do not (though, they seem to be changing)
The suggestion HERE, is that human intelligence is only in it’s evolutionary INFANCY — and, religions don’t make sense to us well-educated infants because WE’RE NOT AS SMART AS WE THINK WE ARE
We’re just getting started…
I’m not SURE that magic is real — but I BELIEVE that it is because I seem to have stumbled upon some magic staring us in the faces
That’s where I’m going — come along…
(Note that, on this site, I’ll be discussing WESTERN religions – I suspect that EASTERN Religions are easier to defend, but I don’t know enough about them to try)
Our public schools are somewhat reasonably — but unfortunately and also unwittingly(?) — teaching our children that CAUSE-AND-EFFECT RULES — and indirectly, that religious beliefs are foolish…
IF cause-and-effect DOES rule, religious beliefs MUST BE foolish!
Consequently, I’m “CLAIMING” that cause and effect does NOT rule — that’s the key
And consequently, our kids are leaving Religion “in droves”
In other words, for the sake of reason and honesty, our public schools are undermining our kids’ happiness
In searching A.I. from 1950 to 2026
In the 1950s, the percentage of American religious disbelievers or those with “no religion” was extremely low, estimated at near zero to 2%.
In 1960, the percentage of American religious disbelievers—those with no religious identity, atheists, or agnostics—was extremely low, estimated to be around 2% to 5% of the population.
In the early 1970s, the percentage of American religious disbelievers—those identifying as atheist, agnostic, or having no religious preference—was very low, generally estimated at around 5%
.Based on data from the General Social Survey (GSS) and other analyses of American religiosity, the percentage of Americans with no religious preference or who disbelieved in 1980 was relatively low compared to modern, 2026
Approximately 8% to 10% of American adults identified as having no religious affiliation (“nones”) in 1990, marking the beginning of a significant, long-term shift away from religious identification
According to the General Social Survey (GSS), approximately 14% of American adults identified as having no religious affiliation in 2000
Based on surveys around 2010, the percentage of Americans identifying as having no religion (the “nones”) was approximately 16% to 17%.
In 2020, approximately 23% to 30% of American adults were religiously unaffiliated (often called religious “nones” or disbelievers). This group includes atheists, agnostics, and those who identify as “nothing in particular”.
As of 2025, approximately 28% to 29% of U.S. adults identify as religiously unaffiliated (often called “nones”), which includes those who are atheist, agnostic, or have no specific religious tradition, according to PRRI and Pew Research Center data. While this represents a high point, the rapid growth of this group has plateaued compared to previous years.
As of early 2026, approximately 28% of Americans identify as religiously unaffiliated (often called “nones”), a figure that includes atheists, agnostics, and those with no specific religious affiliation.
I’m all for reason and honesty — and respect the schools’ motivation — but my BELIEF is that OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS just haven’t recognized the significant evidence FOR Religion, and are consequently doing our kids an enormous disservice…
OUR CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES aren’t doing much better— they tell us a lot about WHAT to believe, but offer very little as to WHY to believe
So, my objective here is to show that there actually IS serious reason to believe in something we would call “MAGIC” — and RELIGION…
It’s just that the serious reason to believe isn’t nearly as OBVIOUS as is the serious reason to disbelieve
And consequently, religious parents and teachers of religion are not able to argue their cases very effectively
And, if we parents want our kids to be happy, we need to learn about the serious evidence FOR religion, and pass it on to our kids
S0, the OBVIOUS PROBLEM we have with Religion is that what makes a “social-cultural system” a RELIGION is an underlying belief in “MAGIC” — and most of us well-educated, western parents do not believe in magic.
Or at least, most of us do not THINK that we believe in magic
But then, most of us ACTUALLY DO BELIEVE in magic— we just haven’t made the necessary connections…
For instance, reality is either a deterministic machine – or, it is (at least) somewhat “magical”
There is no other possibility
And, if there is such a thing as FREE WILL, reality is NOT a deterministic machine.
In other words, if YOU BELIEVE IN FREE WILL, YOU ALREADY BELIEVE IN MAGIC
Keep that in mind as you judge western Religion…
In still other words, if there is such a thing as free will, modern science and thought must be missing (or misunderstanding) a WHOLE DIMENSION (or something — or more)
Again, Religion requires the existence of MAGIC – and if you believe in free will, you already believe in magic
And again, again — keep that in mind…
If you DON’T believe in free will (yet), keep thinking
