"(T)he fact that salient religious cues prompt neighborly (sic) decisions and curb social transgressions because they focus the believers’ attention on God’s hawkeyed view of their behaviors is tremendously important for understanding the adaptive function of religion." full article hereI think this interesting argument from research nevertheless gets things the wrong way around. A taxi driver who is diligently honest by nature is likely to exhibit a belief system that takes into account the presence of a transcendent truthfulness - what he might refer to as God - because the ideas go hand in hand. It's not that he's frightened of being judged by a vengeful cosmic father figure necessarily (though maybe that's true for some). A case of an atheist positing a very simplistic cause and effect worldview I think.
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