philosophy of religion

For quite some time,i was wondering about the presence of god and what is it in religion that people don't even hesitate to lay down their lives for it?Why people hold their beliefs so strongly that they are prepared to die and to kill for them.And i found some of the answers to these questions in the exceptionally written book which i am reading now.It's called "THE SACRED NEURON" by john bowker and my first book on philosophy and after reading it i plan to continue reading more of them in the coming time.Bowker shows from his reasearch that reason and the emotions work more closely together in forming human opinions and judgements than was once supposed .The compelling insight puts a radically different and new complexion on how aesthetic and moral judgements are made, on how people and societies interact, and on our broader understanding of the human mind.It lists religion as something 'unbelievable being upheld by the unprovable' and gives the paradox of religious urgency, it states that religions are such a bad news (when they are) only because they are such good news: they protect so much that is so important and so well tested through time that people would die rather than lose it. A must read for all philosophy buffs.