Half the journalists considered themselves religious, at least when the fellowship began. By the end, the infidels were all holding firm, while at least one believer's faith was wobbling because of the arguments of Dawkins.

Whether the program was all that its sponsor, the Templeton Foundation, hoped for is unclear. Created by investor Sir John Templeton in 1987, the foundation has spent $225 million on publications, conferences and other programs aimed at finding common ground between science and religion. The participants here may not have found that common ground, but they all agreed that spending two weeks on the River Cam pondering the meaning of life--or lack thereof--was jolly good fun.

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