By Nathan Burchfiel
Culture and Media Institute
September 15, 2010

Legendary filmmaker Woody Allen recognizes that religion makes people happier, but still views religious faith as a “delusion” worthy of the same respect afforded a fortune cookie.

In an interview published Sept. 15 to promote his upcoming movie, “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger,” Allen told The New York Times, “This sounds so bleak when I say it, but we need some delusions to keep us going. And the people who successfully delude themselves seem happier than the people who can’t.”

 “To me, there’s no real difference between a fortune teller or a fortune cookie and any of the organized religions,” Allen told reporter David Itzkoff. “They’re all equally valid or invalid, really. And equally helpful.”

When asked whether he thought reincarnation was more plausible than the existence of God, Allen said, “Neither seems plausible to me. I have a grim, scientific assessment of it. I just feel, what you see is what you get.”

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