We live in a world dominated by belief; We hear, are taught, convinced and converted; We affirm, worship, praise and preach; We argue, persecute and kill for our beliefs. All of this happens without a hint of faith in sight. Mainstream religion is in decline while religious extremism grows. We shout about Christ or Muhammad while remaining silent about God ... or use the term for our own purposes.
Yet, parallels between reality and ancient words about God suggest that religious "myths" began as lessons in reality realism. We find that realism can mitigate the blindness of our beliefs. Our problems with belief, however, reach far beyond religion. Belief drives our psychology as well as our social and political interactions.