On the topic of that philosophy "one should believe in God, because if He exists, you're safe, and if Hedoesn't exist, you're not any worse off" I'd like to make a few comments. I was thinking about which religion might be the wisest to belong to, based on their tolerance of other religions. We'll take the biggest ones.
Judaism - according to what I've heard from Jewish friends, they believe that all moral people will enter heaven, although the Jews are the Chosen People, and kind of protectors of humanity.
Islam - Muslims believe that Jews and Christians will enter heaven along with them, because all of the old scriptures are part of Allah's Word.
Buddhism - they believe that life is a quest for inner peace and an eventual union with God. As long as a religion is moral (as our Buddhist friend here said) they are valid beliefs.
Hinduism - Unfortunately I don't know enough about their tolerance system.
Atheism - they believe organized religion is a waste of time and dangerous. It should not be followed, but in the end it doesn't really matter.
Catholicism - John Paul II said that Jews and Muslims will go to heaven provided they are good Jews and Muslims. (I'm seperating it from Christianity because...)
Christianity - Only those who accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah will enter heaven. Period.
Now of course there are plenty of other religions and sects, but I picked the basic and largest ones. Someone please tell me if I'm innacurate about one of these. So the final tally is:
Judaism - tolerant of everyone
Islam - tolerant of Jews and Christians
Buddhism - tolerant of everyone
Hinduism - unsure
Atheism - tolerant of everyone (but angry)
Catholicism - tolerant of Muslims and Jews
Christianity - tolerant of no one
Therefore, the wisest choice would be to belong to Christianity. If Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Atheism, or Catholicism are correct, you're safe. There you have it. Although I personally refuse to allow statistics to determine my beliefs, as I'm sure all of you do as well. But it's still an interesting concept.