I, too, enjoyed Christine's example of the
Mormon girl on MTV's Real World.

One reason to think we have less control
over our beliefs is the following
observation: The world's religions tend to
cluster in particular geographic areas
where they either emerged or took root
through immigration. Europe and
America are mostly Christian, Arabia and
North Africa mostly Muslim, China mostly
Buddhist , Taoist, Confucianist, Japan
mostly Buddhist and Shinto, etc.

Converts to "outsider" religions are the
exception rather than the rule. If religion
were a "free will choice" wouldn't you
expect the world's religions to be more
evenly distributed? As it is, they all tend to
cluster in the cultures from which they
grew.

Prof. Borrowdale