Belief in God evolved to prevent cheating

We are programmed to believe in a god
Even atheists can appreciate there are strong evolutionary and social reasons why humans usually believe in a higher force. Psychologist Jesse Bering demonstrates this through an experiment using 5-9 year old children and an impossible game in which the temptation to cheat is overwhelming.

See http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129528196 for more details.

"I've always said that I don't believe in God, but I don't really believe in atheists either," Bering says. "Everybody experiences the illusion that God — or some type of supernatural agent — is watching them or is concerned about what they do in their sort of private everyday moral lives."

The Belief Instinct: The Psychology of Souls, Destiny, and the Meaning of Life
by Jesse Bering
http://www.amazon.com/The-Belief-Instinct-Psychology-Destiny/dp/0393341267

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