After completing his Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Cornell University, Justin Barrett served on the psychology faculties of Calvin College (Michigan) and the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and as a research fellow of the Institute for Social Research. Recently, he was the Associate Director for the International Culture and Cognition Consortium and an editor of the Journal of Cognition and Culture. His cross-cultural, developmental, and experimental research on religious concepts has appeared in numerous books and scholarly journals. Dr. Barrett currently provides consulting on numerous research and evaluation projects for academic and non-profit groups, especially concerning the interface of science and religion.

• 1 Preface2 What does it mean to "believe"?3 Where Do Beliefs in Gods Come From? Religious Concepts as Minimally Counterintuitive4 Where Do Beliefs in Gods Come From? Finding Agents Everywhere5 Where Do Gods Come From? Additional Factors that Contribute to Gods' Credibility6 How Religious Actions Enhance Belief in Gods7 The Naturalness of Belief in God8 The Naturalness of Believing in Minds: An Analog for Understanding Belief in God9 Why Would Anyone NOT Believe in God?10 In Conclusion

For millennia, philosophers and others have offered explanations of religious belief. Barrett's discussion challenges every explanation I know of, doing so on the basis of fascinating and innovative empirical studies, and acute philosophical analysis. His theory is innovative, compelling, and provocative at many points, not least in its conclusion that theism, not atheism, is our natural condition. It's the sort of book that shakes up the field; all philosophers and psychologists of religion will have to take account of it.