Social Sciences
Human behavior and social patterns
The social sciences—psychology, sociology, anthropology—study human behavior, social structures, and cultural patterns. These disciplines reveal features of human nature and society that are better explained by theism than by naturalism.
Psychology
Religious Experience
Across cultures and throughout history, humans report experiences of transcendence, divine presence, and spiritual transformation. While such experiences can be studied psychologically, their universality and transformative power suggest they may be responses to something real.
Moral Psychology
Humans possess deep moral intuitions—a sense of justice, compassion, and obligation—that appear cross-culturally. These intuitions are difficult to explain on purely evolutionary grounds, as they often conflict with genetic self-interest.
The Search for Meaning
Viktor Frankl's logotherapy and subsequent research confirm that humans have a fundamental need for meaning. This "will to meaning" is better explained if meaning is objectively real than if it is merely a psychological construct.
Sociology
Religion and Social Cohesion
Religious communities consistently demonstrate higher levels of social trust, cooperation, and mutual aid. While this could be explained functionally, it also suggests that religion taps into something real about human nature and social flourishing.
The Persistence of Religion
Despite predictions of secularization, religion persists and even grows globally. The "secularization thesis" has been largely abandoned by sociologists. This persistence suggests religion meets genuine human needs.
Anthropology
Universal Religious Impulse
Every known human culture has developed religious beliefs and practices. This universality suggests that religion is not merely a cultural accident but reflects something fundamental about human nature—perhaps a genuine capacity to perceive transcendent reality.