Faith/Religion

This story is part of True/False Conversations, a series of in-depth interviews with the filmmakers of this year’s True/False Festival.  Find the rest of them here or download the podcast on iTunes.

Fr. Thomas Saucier was on his way to the gym when a friend asked if he had heard the news: Pope Benedict XVI had announced his resignation. 

He learned more of the details during his workout.

"I'm doing my machine, and on all the networks, that's what they're telecasting," he said. 

Like most other people, Saucier was shocked. 

Awareness of death can lead people to strengthen and defend their own religious beliefs, according to a recent psychological study led by MU researcher Kenneth Vail. 

And that doesn't just apply to those who believe in a higher power already.  

The foundation of Vail's researcg comes from the idea that part of the motivation for religious belief is the awareness of death – an idea that has deep philosophical roots, Vail said. Recent experimental research also points to the notion that people use belief to help manage awareness of mortality.