Running in the background of our minds is a myriad of survival-based mental capacities waiting to be deployed.
These help us navigate the world, especially the social world. We barely notice them, and even when we do, we
take them for granted, but they are fascinating and were indispensible for our survival as we evolved, and still are.
These adaptations are the building blocks of religious beliefs.

The supernatural beliefs of religion merely pirate the way our brain is designed to think about other people, their minds, and their intentions.

from: Anderson Thomson, Clare Aukofer : Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith