Drudgery divine

According to a press release, Dr. Dennett has a book out which "argues, and lays the groundwork, for the scientific study of religious belief." I wholeheartedly approve of this project and can barely fathom how we could have gone so long without similar efforts having been undertaken—that groundwork for such a project should only now be being laid is a scholarly travesty. Religious belief is undeniably important in life, even in the lives of some quite noble minds, though admittedly the doctrines and even some of the believers do come in for some despising in our culture. The phenomenon should be analyzed thoroughly, quite thoroughly, down to its elements. May its great variety not put off our researchers, and may they not, should rigor demand it, fail even to profane the supposedly sacred! Even the composers of this press release deserve our kudos for having struck a blow, if only in symbolic form, for secular humanism, and should take a bow.