I'm doing a lot of policy writing on youth and I keep coming across statements about the benefits of belief in God for teens. These statements claim that belief helps keep them out of trouble, makes them more resilient, etc.

I suspect this is not true - that belief in the supernatural makes people less resilient because they depend on a source of power outside of themselves. Attachment theory tells us that youth are more resilient when they have strong relationships involving…

In Canada, this morning's leading national newspaper had an article on the return of a child that had been abducted (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-boy-safe-in-miracle-return-suspected-abductor-at-large/article2161442/).

The return is dubbed miraculous. "For four days, Kienan Hebert’s parents…