For decades, the intellectual descendants of Darwin have pored over ancient bones and bits of fossils, trying to piece together how fish evolved into man, theorizing about the evolutionary advantage conferred by each physical change. And over the past 10 years, a small group of academics have begun to look at religion in the same way: they've started to look at God and the supernatural through the lens of evolution.

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In one of his past lives, Dr. Paul DeBell believes, he was a caveman. The gray-haired Cornell-trained psychiatrist has a gentle, serious manner, and his appearance, together with the generic shrink décor of his office – leather couch, granite-topped coffee table – makes this pronouncement seem particularly jarring.

In that earlier incarnation, "I was going along, going along, going along, and I got eaten," said Dr. DeBell, who has a private practice on the Upper East Side where he specializes in hypnotizing those hoping to retrieve memories of past lives. Dr. DeBell likes to reflect on how previous lives can alter one's sense of self. He, for example, is more than a psychiatrist in 21st-century Manhattan; he believes he is an eternal soul who also inhabited the body of a Tibetan monk and a conscientious German who refused to betray his Jewish neighbors in the Holocaust.

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Queendom.com released their Paranormal Beliefs test after collecting data from over 20,000 people from all walks of life. They uncovered gender, age, ethnic and other differences in views of the supernatural.

Their Paranormal Beliefs Test assessed a number of beliefs, including the afterlife, the concepts of fate and karma, and aliens. Although superstitions are no longer as prominent as they used to be – the two most prevalent superstitions were the belief that thinking negative thoughts can make something bad happen (24%), and that "jinxing" something can cause you to lose it (24%) – there are many paranormal aspects that people strongly supported.

The afterlife, religion, and karma were the most widespread beliefs, followed by the belief in fate and psychic phenomenon. Superstitions brought up the rear, while folklore/myths/legends, witchcraft, telekinesis, and existence of UFOs and aliens fell somewhere in the middle on people's belief system. Interestingly, women believed much more strongly in paranormal phenomenon than men did, particularly in terms of the idea of karma (average score for women 71, 57 for men). The only exception was that of aliens and UFOs, where men outscored women 52 to 49.

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The power of prayer really can help to heal the sick, an international study has found – especially if the well-wisher is standing near the person they are praying for.

Researchers say the vision and hearing of patients in their tests improved after healing practitioners prayed for them.

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Thinking about God reduce distress, but only in believers, while atheists are more distressed after thinking of God-related ideas, Canadian researchers say.

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Scientists scouring the area around Stonehenge said Thursday they have uncovered a circular structure only a few hundred meters (yards) from the world famous monument.

There's some debate about what exactly has been found. The survey team which uncovered the structure said it could be the foundation for a circle of freestanding pieces of timber, a wooden version of Stonehenge.

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Hallelujah diets. Body by God. Karate for Christ. Gospel groove workouts.

Using the Lord's name (not in vain), fitness and diet enthusiasts are injecting the Almighty into nutrition programs, exercise DVDs, martial arts and healthy living courses. 

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Hearing God's voice, it seems, is no longer just for prophets.

A poll recently released by an evangelical Christian research group shows that about three-quarters of Americans say Jesus speaks directly to them.

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The Dalai Lama's not getting any younger.

He turned 75 on Tuesday and by all accounts he's in good health. But, inevitably, the question of who will succeed one of the world's most revered spiritual leaders looms large.

Increasingly, the spotlight has been turned to the Karmapa Lama. He is close to the Dalai Lama and calls him "a spiritual and personal father figure." As head of one of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, he is also an accomplished scholar in his own right. But he's of a new generation.

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Q. Is God a mathematician?

A. Certainly the universe seems to be reliably understood using mathematics, answers Clifford Pickover in "The Math Book." Nature is mathematics.

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