From the  New York Times :    The USA has 63% Christians, a decline of 15% in 18 years: However, people have stopped leaving churches en masse, according to   a new study released   by Pew Research. Further from the  Pew Research Center : 22%  of Americans are categorized as   spiritual but not religious (SBNR)  because they say they think of themselves as spiritual or they consider spirituality very important in their lives, but they neither think of themselves as religious nor say religion is very important in their lives. 58%  of Americans fall into an overall or   “NET” Religious   category because they say they think of themselves as religious or they consider religion very important in their lives. This group can be subdivided into U.S. adults who are   both religious and spiritual   (48%) and those who are   religious but not spiritual   (10%) 21%  of Americans are categorized as   neit...

  We know there is life because we are alive.  We have seen deaths, and it is clear we won't live forever.  But this is my view.  Buddhists might disagree.  While I don't think there is any kind of afterlife, most religions promise or suggest that there is something after you die.  Aside for attempting to sway people into being better human beings, perhaps this final carrot at the end is why religion has done so well in the history of humanity.  Even if reality turns out to be my viewpoint, at least many religious-inclined individuals gain the benefit of some psychological relief about the coming inevitability. Hindu and Buddhism teach origins quite different from Islam and Christianity, but these two have rather similar beginnings because they developed in adjacent locales.  For Christians, in the beginning God created the heavens and Earth. Only on the fifth day did He bring forth life, in the seas and also flying creatures . Land animals and us...