Most people, both today and for all of recorded history have some form of religious belief. Despite the rise of modern atheism, religion is as much a constant of our humanity as language or walking on two legs. Yet the function of belief is less obvious. Why are there religious beliefs in all cultures? Though beliefs obviously vary hugely, do they also have features in common? Why does religion persist in the face of science? Pascal Boyer shows how experimental findings in cognitive science, evolutionary biology and cultural anthropology are now providing precise answers to these general questions, and providing, for the first time, real answers to the question: Why do we believe?