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Scholars who study cults (or, as many prefer to call them by the less pejorative term, “New Religious Movements”) explain that there is no simple answer to the question “Who joins cults?” The only consistent variable seems to be age—young .people are likely to join the cults than older people.

— Michael Shermer

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In science, all conclusions are provisional, subject to new evidence and better arguments, the very antithesis of religious faith.

Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not.

Scientific explanations are often complicated and require training and effort to work through. Superstition and belief in fate and the supernatural provide a simpler path through life’s complex maze.

My thesis is that morality exists outside the human mind in the sense of being not just a trait of individual humans, but a human trait; that is, a human universal.

The recent medical controversy over whether vaccinations cause autism reveals a habit of human cognition—thinking anecdotally comes naturally, whereas thinking scientifically does not.

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Michael Shermer (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.