What are we afraid of?

This was in the New York Times magazine this weekend. The article is called "Darwin's God" and it's about Scott Atran's research into why people believe in things. It's not a bad summary of the current state of neurobiological views on the "hardwiring" of "belief". But, as often happens, the intro - the hook - is a bit iffy.

One excerpt, and one comment:

Atran, who is 55, is an anthropologist at the National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, with joint appointments at the University of Michigan and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. His research interests include cognitive science and evolutionary biology, and sometimes he presents students with a wooden box that he pretends is an African relic. “If you have negative sentiments toward religion,” he tells them, “the box will destroy whatever you put inside it.” Many of his students say they doubt the existence of God, but in this demonstration they act as if they believe in something. Put your pencil into the magic box, he tells them, and the nonbelievers do so blithely. Put in your driver’s license, he says, and most do, but only after significant hesitation. And when he tells them to put in their hands, few will.

If they don’t believe in God, what exactly are they afraid of?

Me? I'd be afraid that this guy with the obviously fake box had rigged it to do something to prove some kind of believer's point, that's what I'd be afraid of.