Where does the desire to believe in a higher power come from? How do religious ideas arise, and why does faith continue to play such an important role in the life of a person in the 21st century? The book by French anthropologist Pascal Boyer describes the phenomenon of religion from the perspective of evolutionary psychology. The scientist finds the background of beliefs and religious rituals in the principles of the work of human consciousness. One by one, he refutes the widespread “theories” of the origin of religion - it arose to explain incomprehensible natural phenomena and personal experiences, it consoles, it ensures social order - and reveals to the reader the amazing features of the structure of our mind.