ABSTRACT
Is there any scientific proof of God’s existence? Can one live without believing in anything? Can the traditional belief in God, the belief in magic and the belief in science coexist in one mind? Analysis reveals that the belief in the supernatural appeared in early humans as a result of the convergence of two factors: the development of the imagination and the awareness of the inevitability of death. The awareness that each person is destined to die triggered a powerful feeling of frustration, which turned the imagination on, thus giving birth to the idea of an afterlife. The spirits of dead ancestors that populate the invisible world of the afterlife became the first gods. Monotheistic religions grew out of magic, yet maintained a link with magic through a belief in supernatural beings and miracles. Science opposed both religion and magic, but was unable to replace them. Recent studies in science, neuroscience and parapsychology suggest that supernatural phenomena do really exist. There is a chance that, in the future science, religion and magic will converge, thus opening new opportunities for understanding supernatural phenomena. The functions that the belief in the supernatural plays in everyday life are also discussed.
