Simon Davis, writing for Religion News Service, tells us, “Since atheist blogger Martin Hughes left Christianity, he hasn’t missed believing in God or in hell. But he does miss heaven.”

Hughes said, “I wish that there was one to go to, and that’s the truth.” He went on to say he knows his view is not “atheistically correct.” But he says that in his own version of heaven, he would “understand everything.” There would be “deep, rich happiness that feels like Mom’s sweet potato pie on Thanksgiving.”

Davis then writes:

Hughes may not be alone in his desire to keep believing in a more secular version of heaven. According to a recent analysis in the journal SAGE … the general trend over the past few decades is broadly toward less religiosity (both public and private). However, the one indicator that seems to buck this trend is belief in the afterlife, where a slight increase was recorded in recent years.