A couple had two little boys, ages 8 and 10, who were excessively mischievous. They were always getting into trouble and their parents knew that, if any mischief occurred in their town, their sons were probably involved.
　
The boys' mother heard that a clergyman in town had been successful in disciplining children, so she asked if he would speak with her boys. The clergyman agreed, but asked to see them individually. So the mother sent her 8-year-old first, in the morning, with the older boy to see the clergyman in the afternoon.
The clergyman, a huge man with a booming voice, sat the younger boy down and asked him sternly,
"Where is God?".
　
The boy's mouth dropped open, but he made no response, sitting there with his mouth hanging open, wide-eyed. So the clergyman repeated the question in an even sterner tone, "Where is God!!?" Again the boy made no attempt to answer. So the clergyman raised his voice even more and shook his finger in the boy's face and bellowed, "WHERE IS GOD!?"
The boy screamed and bolted from the room, ran directly home and dove into his closet, slamming the door behind him. When his older brother found him in the closet, he asked, "What happened?"
　
The younger brother, gasping for breath, replied, "We are in BIG trouble this time, dude. God is missing - and they think WE did it!"

Over 24,000 children die every day around the world.

More than 25 million people have died of AIDS since 1981.

1.02 billion people do not have enough to eat

Religious Conflicts (selected) Generally speaking, in most of the following cases, religion is both the stated cause of the killing and the only substantive difference between the two opposing groups. Obviously, there would be many additional conflicts where religion is just one of several divisions. Albigensian Crusade, 1208-49 Algeria, 1992- Aztecs Baha'is, 1848-54 Bosnia, 1992-95 Boxer Rebellion, 1899-1901 Christian Romans, 30-313 CE Croatia, 1991-92 Early Christian doctrinal disputes English Civil War, 1642-46 Holocaust, 1938-45 Huguenot Wars, 1562-1598 India, 1992-2002 India: Suttee & Thugs Indo-Pakistani Partition, 1947 Iran, Islamic Republic, 1979- Iraq, Shiites, 1991-92 Jews, 1348 Jonestown, 1978 Korea, 1700s Lebanon 1860 1975-92 Martyrs, generally Molucca Is., 1999- Mongolia, 1937-39 Northern Ireland, 1974-98 Responsibility generally (Is religion responsible for more deaths than ...?) Christian culpabiltiy Russian pogroms: 1905-06 1917-22 St. Bartholemew Massacre, 1572 Shang China, ca. 1300-1050 BCE Shimabara Revolt, Japan 1637-38 Sikh uprising, India, 1984-91 Spanish Inquisition, 1478-1834 Taiping Rebellion, 1850-64 Thirty Years War, 1618-48 Tudor England Vietnam, 1800s Witch Hunts, 1400-1800 Xhosa, 1857 In addition, here are a few noteworthy conflicts where dissimilar ethnic groups fought for primarily religious reasons: Arab Outbreak, 7th Century CE Arab-Israeli Wars, 1948- Al Qaeda, 1993- Bible Crusades, 1095-1291 Dutch Revolt, 1566-1609 Muslim conquest of India, 11th-17th C Nigeria, 1990s, 2000s

Scientists scanned brains while subjects considered religious statements, one about God in our daily lives, "God’s will guides my family." Another about God’s decrees, "God demands sacrifices." And God’s emotions, "God is angered by human sin." All three types of statements sparked activity in well-known neural networks that also light up when we consider political beliefs, emotions, as well as abstract concepts, and when we understand others’ intentions.