Most Americans believe in God (90 percent, according to a recent poll). The number is lower but still substantial in Britain.

In the absence of definitive proof, the question is this: Why?

That’s what University of Oxford researchers will try to figure out, with the help of a £1.9-million grant from the John Templeton Foundation. That’s just shy of $4-million — in other words, a lot of money.

They hope to discover, according to The Times of London, whether the desire to believe in God has an evolutionary source. One researcher, Justin Barrett, told the newspaper: “We are interested in exploring exactly in what sense belief in God is natural. We think there is more on the nature side than a lot of people suppose.”

The article notes that the researchers will not try to determine whether God exists. Perhaps that will require a new grant. —Thomas Bartlett