Breaking the spell

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…-- becomes a signifier of dramatic disagreement: A public break with your family, a denial of the culture, perhaps even a declaration of war. Daniel Dennett, in his book Breaking the Spell , draws a distinction between belief and "belief in belief": it's one thing to literally believe, in your heart of hearts, that God created the Earth, and it's another thing to believe that it's important to say , when asked, that God created the Earth. The latter is "belief in belief". I have my own beliefs that I believe in, and I tend to respect those of others unless there's good reason not to: I don't wear shoes in the Hindu temple, I don't tease vegetarians for not eating lard (although, my god, they are missing out on some great Southern cooking...) and when I attended Catholic mass with my late grandmother I stated out loud that I believed in Go…