The Hindu : Front Page : Oxford project: why mankind believes in God

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Thursday, Feb 21, 2008
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Oxford project: why mankind believes in God

LONDON: University of Oxford researchers will spend nearly £2 million in a three-year programme to determine why mankind embraces God.

The grant to the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion will bring anthropologists, theologians, philosophers and other academics together to study whether belief in a divine being is a basic part of mankind’s makeup.

“There are a lot of issues,” said Roger Trigg, the centre’s director. “What is it that is innate in human nature to believe in God, whether it is gods or something superhuman or supernatural?”

He said anthropological and philosophical research suggests that faith in God is a universal human impulse found in most cultures around the world even though it has been waning in Britain and western Europe. “One implication that comes from this is that religion is the default position and atheism is perhaps more in need of explanation,” he said.

The study is funded by the John Templeton Foundation, a U.S.-based philanthropic organisation. — AP

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