"Prayer and faith are, for me, magical thinking, and I've long declared myself an agnostic. As an agnostic, I admit that I don't know if there is or isn't a god, and I will never learn in this lifetime. Not only that, I don't care to be "saved" or don't need to "redeem myself" -- I feel I've done a very good job of leading a life full of good deeds, good intentions and generous actions. If you want to believe in god, good for you. Just don't try and change my mind. And don't get upset if I ignore you. Pray for me if that gives you comfort. Hold on to your faith if that gives you comfort. Just remember, in the end, we all have to look back on our own lives, and think -- yes, I stayed true to myself, treated people with kindness and didn't screw up (too badly)." These words are from an online blog written by a 58-year old woman "Denise". Do these words reflect how you yourself sometimes feel?

The blog continues, as "Being agnostic has never been a problem for me—until I ventured into the world of 12 Steps and recovery. Suddenly, I was told that, in order to combat addiction, we must make "a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him" (the third of the 12 Steps). And if I didn't believe in Him? I Googled "alternate 12 Steps" and I found versions that abstained from God-talk. When the Third Step became "Made a decision to entrust our wills and our lives to the care of the collective wisdom of those who have searched before us," I could respect it and work it. Some say, about 12 Steps AND life, "Take what you like and leave the rest." Sift through the many, many stories and catchphrases and decide what resonates for you. For instance, when I am urged to "Let go and let God," I drop "let God" and realize that "Let go" is profound all by itself. Let go. Can I affect the outcome? No. Will all my worrying change a thing? No. Then let go. I have chosen to believe in my rational mind, and that mind has led me to the world of the 12 Steps. So you could say, after all, that, in choosing to believe, I actually have faith. It may not be your faith, but it works for me." Have you ever entered into a 12-step recovery program, and were you a person of religious faith?

Atheists or agnostics tend to be more intelligent than religious people because they are able to rise above the natural instinct to believe in a god or gods, scientists have concluded, according to Edward Dutton, from the Ulster Institute for Social Research in the U.K., and Dimitri Van der Linden, of the Rotterdam University in the Netherlands, in only two of the many studies done on this correlation . Dutton and Van der Linder build on the theory that religion is instinctive, and it evolved as a behavior that helped humans become the highly successful species they are today. According to the study, our genes mean belief in religion is instinctive—it did, after all, help us develop as a species. Having a higher intelligence, they say, allows people to override these instincts and engage in more rational, and therefore enhanced problem-solving behavior. Do you believe this to be true?