G K Chesterton is often said to have said that when people stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing but in everything or anything - an attribution repeated by Jason Cowley (Books, 27 November). There are two problems about this. One is that it isn't true; every relevant survey has show that people who don't have a belief in God are actually less rather than more likely to have other supernatural or superstitious beliefs. The other is the question whether Chesterton ever actually said anything of the kind. I have failed to find it in his works, and it would be interesting to know whether anyone else has done so.

Nicolas Walter
Rationalist Press Association
London N1

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