I don't accept the premise of the question--that "millions of Americans in mixed marriages are unsure about their conception of God." For the most part, what bothers parents in mixed marriages--if in fact they are bothered--is how to mediate between cultural traditions rooted in conflicting ideas not only about God but about history itself.

Continue »

You might as well ask what is the difference between a "real" government and a political experiment. For the most part, the only difference between a "real religion" and a "cult" is longevity--a distinction that also applies to governments. If enough people believe in some form of the supernatural for a long enough period of time, we stop calling it a cult and start calling it a religion. Religions are cults that last.

Continue »

Since religious faith is a construct of the human mind, it undoubtedly has the same power--no more, no less--as any other intellectual or emotional attribute does over the welfare of the body. But there is nothing supernatural at work here. All of the qualities that we call spiritual, intellectual, or emotional are products of the human brain, which is is an organ of the human body. Love, grief, anger, passion, joy--the whole gamut of human feelings--all affect the way we deal with health problems. Why should faith be different?

Continue »