Researchers, who have studied the way brains develop from childhood and behave during religious experiences, think over the years religion has become a survival instinct.

They suggest that groups of humans with religious tendencies benefited from their beliefs, perhaps because they co-operated and so stood a greater chance of survival.

They thrived compared to their atheist relatives and, after many years, the instinct became passed on in our genes.

The findings challenge campaigners against organised religion, such as Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion.

Richard Dawkins argues that religious beliefs result from poor education and childhood 'indoctrination' Photo: GETTY

He has long argued that religious beliefs result from poor education and childhood “indoctrination”.

Professor Bruce Hood, a psychologist at Bristol University, believes religion is similar to children’s belief in imaginary friends.

“Our research shows children have a natural, intuitive way of reasoning that leads them to all kinds of supernatural beliefs about how the world works,” he said.

“As they grow up they overlay these beliefs with more rational approaches but the tendency to illogical supernatural beliefs remains as religion.”

Professor Hood, who will present his findings at the British Science Association’s annual meeting this week, sees organised religion as just one of many supernatural beliefs.

In one study he found even ardent atheists balked at the idea of accepting an organ transplant from a murderer, because of a superstitious belief that an individual’s personality could be stored in their organs.

“This shows how superstition is hard-wired into our brains,” he said.

Other researchers have found a part of the brain that deals with spirituality.

Andrew Newberg, professor of radiology at the University of Pennsylvania, has used brain-imaging techniques to show that such feelings are invoked by activity in “belief networks” operating across the brain.

Michael Persinger of Laurentian University, Ontario, has even used powerful magnetic fields to induce visions and spiritual experiences in volunteers.

Professor Pascal Boyer, an anthropologist at Washington University and author of Religion Explained, said that atheism was probably the unnatural way to be.

“Religious thinking seems to be the path of least resistance for our cognitive systems,” he said. “By contrast, disbelief is generally the work of deliberate, effortful work against our natural cognitive dispositions — hardly the easiest ideology to propagate.”