"That land that I live in has God on its side," Bob Dylan sang in 1963, cynically reprising a go-to justification for war. That is, believers think they're doing the Lord's work—sometimes a dangerous inclination.
Psychologist Nick Epley explores how we attribute beliefs and attitudes to other minds, including those of deities. In ongoing research at the University of Chicago, he and his collaborators are finding that people's own beliefs line up much more closely with the beliefs they attribute to their gods than to those they peg on other people. (These include attitudes about abortion, gay marriage, and the Iraq war.) And if you manipulate people's views, their gods' assigned views change, too. Further, neuroimaging shows that pondering God's thoughts and considering your own both activate the same parts of the brain, areas distinct from those used to guess the views of the average American.
Epley suggests three possible explanations for the God-self overlap. First, when we have little information about what others are thinking—God is the ultimate secret-keeper—we assume they're like us. Second, the idea that you and your man upstairs are on different pages is threatening. And third, since what you believe is true (you think), and God believes what is true, you must have the same beliefs.
"We're not the only ones to think about this," Epley says. "Since its inception, Christianity has warned of the problem of creating God in one's own image." About half of Americans consult God for advice daily. In light of these data, one could ask whether that's any more productive than asking your imaginary friend where you put your keys—he doesn't know any more than you do.
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