One real psychological benefit to having belief systems and their supporting rituals is that both can serve to reduce anxiety in times of crisis: Belief systems provide a sense of control, and rituals provide a culturally acceptable means of action. In matters of ill health, the success of curers can be explained not only by the real effectiveness of medicinal treatment and the fact that some people recover anyway, but also by the fact that stress and anxiety are reduced for some patients who really believe in the medicine man and his little rituals. Thus, recovery may be enhanced even if the specific treatment is physiological nonsense.

For example, in some primitive societies, a belief in the malevolent dead provides a theory of disease. It offers both an explanation of cause (the actions of evil spirits) and a means of prevention (calling on friendly spirits). In the absence of any really effective medical means of coping with illness, such a belief and its attendant rituals permit people to face an otherwise bewildering experience with some confidence, and this, itself, can reduce the psychological distress accompanying an illness. If this is a short-term gain, and it indeed may be, there may also be a long-term loss, if such a belief system and its sustaining rituals prevent people from finding a real cure or means of preventing disease.

In general, religious systems are most conspicuous among peoples who are intensely dependent upon nature and have limited technical means for controlling it. This is the condition that originally led fantasy to add a spiritual element to the natural world, making the supernatural. This process was typically human—people rarely being content to generalize from just the data at hand when some more can be invented to dress up reality a bit. In sophisticated societies, people have come to misdirect their religious fervor toward their own cultural systems and even themselves. Although this may promote group cohesion and improve morale, it can inhibit both learning and adaptation. Although, in moderation, this trade-off can be adaptive, by its very nature, it tends to excess and becomes maladaptive because it is a cultural phenomenon, and culture is, inherently, a positive feedback mechanism. (E.g., technological development begets more technology; patriotism produces more patriots; etc.)

Along with beliefs, which all people have, humans also must have answers. The questions are universals: Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? When will we get there? The answers form an ideology, which will be considered directly. However, if valid answers are not immediately available, they are manufactured by the schema because having an answer, even if it is wrong, is apparently more comforting

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