'Conceiving God' is essential reading for everyone interested in the origins and roles of science and religion in contemporary society.Is there a supernatural realm that intervenes in daily life? To many it certainly feels so – but what if the religious impulse has another, rational, explanation?David Lewis-Williams, Professor Emeritus in the Rock Art Research Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, explores how science developed and then shows how the natural functioning of the human brain creates experiences that can lead to belief in the supernatural. Such belief gives rise to creeds, a development examined here in the light of critical periods in world history from the Mays in Ancient Central America to Charles Darwin in 19th-century Europe and the San hunters of Southern Africa.'Altogether it adds up to a sane, courteous and devastating criticism of religion, and an illuminating pleasure to read’ – Philip Pullman