“Human cognition (re)creates the gods who sustain hope beyond sufficient reason and commitment beyond self interest. Humans ideally represent themselves to one another in gods they trust. Through their gods, people see what is good in others and what is evil.”

— Scott Atran

Preface, p. ix
In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion (2002)

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Scott Atran 18

Anthropologist 1952

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“Human cognition (re)creates the gods who sustain hope beyond sufficient reason and commitment beyond self interest. Humans ideally represent themselves to one another in gods they trust. Through their gods, people see what is good in others and what is evil.”

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Scott Atran 18

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