It seems that it is often the case that people are doing things that work for them for reasons they don't necessarily understand. For example, one of the great benefits of church is that you meet a lot of people of the same general culture, economic status, and belief system... which is good for networking and dating. Likewise, prayer seems to be a fairly effective self-regulation/self-calming system. (Contrariwise, Religion has had comparatively limited success in dealing with large-scale political/ethical issues and personal risk-management ("Jesus, take the wheel!" is not a sound safety strategy).)

Therefore, I would accept that going to church and praying are rational activities... But I still don't believe that most people do them for the most rational reasons.

Which isn't to say that DeVH might not be conflating what's popular with what works. But I suspect that looking at what's popular will quite often find you things that work.

as a contrarian; I naturally invalidate the public opinion. I think I would benefit from taking note of the public or common process and considering the validity of it as an option; instead of being as dismissive. The post above helped to suggest that.