“Sean: If so, that kind of magic thinking is a strategy for survival that a lot of people use. Some sceptics might say it is the very basis of religious belief.

Nick: Yes. Some see it as the lie at the heart of religion, but I tend to think it is the much-needed utility of religion. And the lie - if the existence of God is, in fact, a falsehood - is, in some way, irrelevant. In fact, sometimes it feels to me as if the existence of God is a detail, or a technicality, so unbelievably rich are the benefits of a devotional life. Stepping into a church, listening to religious thinkers, reading scripture, meditating, praying - all these religious activities eased the way back into the world for me. Those who discount them as falsities or superstitious nonsense, or worse, a collective mental feebleness are made of sterner stuff than me. I grabbed at anything I could get my hands on and, since doing so, I've never let them go.”