Intensity of Childhood Smile Predicts Future Marriage Success
The scientists speculate that one’s tendency to grin—an example of what psychologists call “thin slices” of behavior that can belie personal traits—reflects his or her underlying emotional disposition. Positive emotionality influences how others respond to a person, perhaps making that individual more open and likely to seek out situations conducive to a lasting, happy marriage. (Jordan Lite, Scientific American Mind)

Couples Therapy That Fosters Empathy
Emotion-focused therapy is about the feelings beneath the hard shells of anger, and blame, and icy defense. Once a partner expresses those underlying emotions—fear, intense loneliness, or shame—the other can feel empathy instead of anger. (Francine Kopun, Toronto Star)

Are Humans Hardwired by Evolution to Believe in God?
The idea has emerged from studies of the way children’s brains develop and of the workings of the brain during religious experiences. They suggest that during evolution groups of humans with religious tendencies began to benefit from their beliefs, perhaps because they tended to work together better and so stood a greater chance of survival. (Jonathan Leake and Andrew Sniderman, The Sunday Times)

Leading British Scientist Calls on Religious Groups to Tackle Global Warming
Lord May, a former chief scientist to the government, said religious groups could use their influence to motivate believers into reducing the environmental impact of their lives. The international reach of faith-based organizations and their authoritarian structures give religious groups an almost unrivaled ability to encourage a large proportion of the world’s population to go green, he said. (Ian Sample, The Guardian)

Environmentalism as Religion in England?
Tim Nicholson, the former head of sustainability at Grainger, a property investment company, claims he was dismissed in part because he took his green convictions seriously and the company did not. After a 2007 change in the regulations, he may be protected under the anti-discrimination law in the same way that a religious believer would be, providing only that his philosophical beliefs are cogent, serious, and “worthy of respect in a democratic society.” (Andrew Brown’s Blog, guardian.co.uk)

MOVIES
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It’s anti-religion, anti-science, pro-science, pro-humanity, a little mystical, and supernatural to boot. (Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel)