Possibly some hardworking in the sense that it helped for survival. But most of my friends grew up indoctrinated and never thought about it. They just go with what their family practices. I know very few people who know enough about their religion to legitimately be able to say they are a believer.

I’d long considered myself in ‘a minority,’ until studying breakdowns of various religions. ‘Non-believers’ are making a larger slice of the pie all the time!

..and, the deepest of questions... I’ve heard that ‘hardwired’ claim, too, but don’t believe it. There are plenty of instincts we humans suppress on a daily basis, and now, with access to Real Answers, it appears to me the best among us can adapt.

As for the intelligence of “devout theists,” honestly, I do not consider them ‘that intelligent.’ Well disciplined, clever, manipulative ..perhaps - but lacking a degree of both intellect & integrity necessary to claim mental parity, let alone superiority. As I see it, we Atheist are the humble ones - the only ones honestly admitting some answers are missing.

Hardwiring from our tribal past in one explanation. Richard Dawkin's description of a cooperative gene which leads to altruism could possibly be another solution. I just finished watching a Rabbi give a Jewish answer, which is that we are born with pieces of a pre-birth memory of a time when our souls were comfortable in a celestial state of being. Conception and later birth are traumatic events which wipe out the majority of this memory. Near death experiences are a memory of the traumatic birth event replete with the experiences of traveling through a dark tunnel into a harsh light. I'm going with all three.

I'm not the first to say it, but religion is an accident of birth and geography, reinforced over a lifetime by tribalism. I am proud of all of us who have been able to open our minds to see beyond its limitations and shake it off. It is not easy.

I was not brought up in a religious household. My parents were non practicing Catholics. I joined a local church when I was about five as I was very shy, no friends and just the desire to belong.

Ever see Fiddler on the roof? I think they nailed it. If I remember right he kept saying "tradition".