Flawed as they may be, science and the secular Enlightenment values expressed in Western democracies are our best hope for survival.

Myths, whether in written or visual form, serve a vital role of asking unanswerable questions and providing unquestionable answers. Most of us, most of the time, have a low tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty. We want to reduce the cognitive dissonance of not knowing by filling the gaps with answers. Traditionally, religious myths have served that role, but today — the age of science — science fiction is our mythology.

Smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for non-smart reasons.

We are a fluke of nature, a quirk of evolution, a glorious contingency.

Remember always that we are pattern-seeking primates who are especially adept at finding patterns with emotional meaning.

... In a free society, skeptics are the watchdogs against irrationalism - the consumer advocates of ideas. Debunking is not simply the divestment of bunk; its utility is in offering a better alternative, along with a lesson on how thinking goes wrong.

There are many sources of spirituality; religion may be the most common, but it is by no means the only. Anything that generates a sense of awe may be a source of spirituality. Science does this in spades.