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With all the hype over the end of the Mayan Calender, and other apocalyptic biblical prophesies predicting the world will end this December, it is no surprise that there are more people that believe in a higher being than there are 'Unaffiliates' (i.e. agnostic, atheist secular, etc.). And as we grow older, and feel our mortality running out, the need to believe in that being increases.

According to a new psychology study from The University of Texas at Austin, published in the June issue of Child Development, adults are more likely to chose religion and beliefs rather than excepting unexplainable unknowns than children.

Cristine Legare, assistant professor of psychology and lead author of the study said in a news release:

"As children assimilate cultural concepts into their intuitive belief systems -- from God to atoms to evolution -- they engage in coexistence thinking. "When they merge supernatural and scientific explanations, they integrate them in a variety of predictable and universal ways."

Legare and her colleagues reviewed more than 30 studies on how people (ages 5 through 75) from various countries reason with three major existential questions: the origin of life, illness and death. They also looked at 366 respondents in South Africa, where biomedical and traditional healing practices are both widely available.

The findings indicate that participants of all age groups agreed with biological explanations for at least one event. supernatural explanations such as witchcraft were supported among some children , but universally among adults.

Legare said the findings contradict the common assumption that supernatural beliefs dissipate with age and knowledge.

"The findings show supernatural explanations for topics of core concern to humans are pervasive across cultures," Legare said. "If anything, in both industrialized and developing countries, supernatural explanations are frequently endorsed more often among adults than younger children."

One of the most revealing aspects of the study is that it highlights supernatural reasoning as an integral part of the human condition. As logical creatures we seek answers and when we cannot find one, there is an omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent,"creator" that gives us the easiest and most palatable explanation: We are not supposed to know.