This is a radical and provocative, yet intelligent and informative exploration of the nature of religion and its role in human life. The debate about the existence of God and the nature of religion has been raging for centuries, but now, in the age of science, man can truly begin to understand. Taking a perspective rooted in evolutionary biology with a focus on brain science, "God's Brain" - written by two highly distinguished scholars - attempts to explore some of the perennial questions about religion: What is its purpose? How did it arise? What is its source? Why does every known culture have some form of it? Their answer is deceptively simple, yet at the same time highly complex: science has revealed that humans and other primates alike are afflicted by unavoidable sources of stress, or 'brainpain'. To cope with this affliction people seek to 'brainsoothe'. Humans use religion and its social structures to induce brainsoothing as a relief for our innate anxiety. In a concise, lively, and accessible style, this volume provides unrivalled insights into the complexities of our brain and the role of religion, perhaps its most remarkable creation.