Belief & Endorphins

The issue of religious belief is complex. I have gone through so many different stages myself that I do understand many sides of the issue. The first thing that must be said is that we can never have a conclusive conversation about the object of belief, since, by definition, it is about something beyond empirical verification.

Recently I have read a spate of articles, by anthroplogists, neuroscientists, sociologists, some believers themselves, some not. One thing they seem to agree on is that believing in some religious dogma seems to cause one to release endorphins, and endorphins make us feel better.They assume there has to be some use for belief since it has hung on in us for so long.

But that says nothing about the willingess, tearing at us right now, of people to turn on other people who do not share their beliefs. That, I suppose, would be a study of the use of war in forwarding some piece of the human desire.

And what about the issue of the object of belief? Is it enough to believe in order to get the endorphin rush even if you feel the object of belief is a sham? Does the placebo effect work if you know you are getting a placebo?