Atheist: Why do you think people believe in gods?

[gnomon]

Why do you think people believe in gods or other such religious stuff?

Because their peers and family believe.

I don't think most people do believe. At least, not in any meaningful sense. They claim, and affect, belief, because humans are generally highly socially motivated, and the appearance of religious belief is generally a necessary requirement to be accepted by the rest of the herd.

Reminds me of Daniel Dennett's talk on belief in belief:
[youtube][youtube]tN8BHD9sXJ8[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪The Atheism Tapes - Daniel Dennett - Belief in Belief‬‏[youtube]

Long form here:
[youtube][youtube]Yzbt6QY6NuY[/youtube]
YouTube - ‪Belief in belief - Daniel Dennett (part1)‬‏[youtube]

 

[The Neo Nerd]

Which only goes to show that atheist are also prone to fictitious beliefs.

You are indeed correct. We are human as well.

However, would you like to explain your viewpoint on this.

 

[PennyKay]

I think I read somewhere that the human brain reacts positvely to being part of a group opposed to living in a environment on their own and having to fend for themselves. Evolutionary speaking, those humans who do stick together as a part of a group and thus ensure that they're protected from negative outside influences, fair better than those who dont.

Of course there are other obvious reasons such as:

- Country you are born in.
- Era you were born in.
- Family you were born in to.
- Environment you grow up in.
- Type of education you receive (did you go to a religious or non-religious school)
- Events that happen within life.
- Whether you have a more critical thought process or if you are more subseptable to believing what authority says without the need to question it.
- It gives them comfort in times of distress (knowing that dead loved ones, are really just in another place where you can't see them anymore).

There are so many reasons and everybody has their own.

 

[waitasec]

I think I read somewhere that the human brain reacts positvely to being part of a group opposed to living in a environment on their own and having to fend for themselves. Evolutionary speaking, those humans who do stick together as a part of a group and thus ensure that they're protected from negative outside influences, fair better than those who dont.

Of course there are other obvious reasons such as:

- Country you are born in.
- Era you were born in.
- Family you were born in to.
- Environment you grow up in.
- Type of education you receive (did you go to a religious or non-religious school)
- Events that happen within life.
- Whether you have a more critical thought process or if you are more subseptable to believing what authority says without the need to question it.
- It gives them comfort in times of distress (knowing that dead loved ones, are really just in another place where you can't see them anymore).

There are so many reasons and everybody has their own.

i agree...
it's funny in a way, the believers who think evolution is bunk are doing exactly this
go figure...

 

[Jeremiah]

So the common notion is; that theists believe because they are weak minded fools? Did I get that right?

 

[FlyingTeaPot]

So the common notion is; that theists believe because they are weak minded fools? Did I get that right?

and ignorant. don't forget that as long as you are putting words in our mouths.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Probably because of old interpretations of natural events and natural objects, and without modern science, guesses can go extremely wrong.

 

[LuisDantas]

Why do you think people believe in gods or other such religious stuff?

In gods? Mainly because they have learned from their previous generations that they are expected to.

In religious matters? Because there is a strong practical need to. Religion has little to do with any concepts of god. It is mainly about social support, mutual understanding and moral values.

 

[MissAlice]

Fear.

I know this was my problem for a long time. I can't speak for all people who believe in a god/s but for me part of it was my upbringing despite my dad being an atheist, the other part was being told all the time that God was watching out for me. Then of course death and losing people made it hard which instilled more fear. During my heavy depression I wanted to beleive that were was a better place after death. I don't know exactly how I began to face my fear and question whether or not there was a god. I think this questioning of there being a god was there to begin with but I was always afraid to even think or suggest such a thought. I finally decided to grow up and face reality. I think what mostly started it, was hearing news and reading articles about people killing in the name of religion. Then I got into ancient history and mythology and then up to that point I was reading Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion. But I'm still undecided what really started this cause and affect, the chicken or the egg?

 

[Jeremiah]

I think theist believe in gods because of the deep emotional bond they have created with them; both culturally and personally. I think this emotional bond is the wellspring of their religious faith and conviction.

That's why it does not seem to make intellectual sense, because the foundation is an emotional one.

 

[victormeldrew]

Why do you think people believe in gods or other such religious stuff?

People want an answer to the question "What is the meaning of life?" They want to think their lives have purpose. They feel better if they can believe their existence is the culmination of a great plan. If they think there is a plan, they think there must be a planner. Anything that is clever enough to make the world must be a powerful dude. Something to be feared, worshiped, sucked-up to, kept-on-the-right side of, just in case.

 

[Benhamine]

I think theist believe in gods because of the deep emotional bond they have created with them; both culturally and personally. I think this emotional bond is the wellspring of their religious faith and conviction.

That's why it does not seem to make intellectual sense, because the foundation is an emotional one.

I think this is a big part of why some people today believe in gods. But they only form those bonds because either they were raised to do so (rather by their family or by the culture around them), because they are seeking meaning in their life, or are discomforted by the idea of their lives ending. All of these lead people to initially seek a god. I don't think a god is necessarily the answer to any/all of these problems for all but for some it seems to be.

This is strictly talking about those who really believe that they believe. Those just following the motions either like the comraderie and fellowship or fear being ostracized for being an outsider.

I feel there's also a group who "believe" just so they have authority for what they do. They are either too lazy, ignorant, or stubborn to find justification for their actions so they turn to a religion, often bastardize it's teachings, and use it's works to validate how they live their lives.

-Benhamine

 

[On_a_Quest]

I think that most of believing in a god or gods stems from a natural human curiosity to know more about the world around us. That's why scientists are researching new things all the time: in an effort to better understand our universe. I feel like religion transforms around what people need to fill in the gaps of their beliefs of the world. A belief in an all-powerful omnipresent god fills in any explanation for any unknown or (currently) inexplicable fact. It gives people a certain level of comfort.

As science fills in the gaps, fewer people need the comfort of religion because the facts fulfil what they want to know in the world. For others, a belief in a higher power works better.

For me personally, I've taken a number of science courses in my schooling career, but I still believe in a god because I haven't learned any satisfying answer to the creation of the universe/our planet. It seems to me that someone/something must have put at least the laws of physics into place, if nothing else.

In short, I think people believe in higher powers to fill in the gaps in their knowledge.

 

[Sunstone]

Why do you think people believe in gods or other such religious stuff?

There appear to be a number of modules in the human brain that tend to predispose people to belief in deity. For instance: The modules that give rise to Agent Detection, Theory of Mind, Causal Reasoning, etc. Those modules seem to account for everything from belief in ghosts to belief in deities.

You can read more about this from several sources, including, Scott Atran, In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion; and Andrew Newberg and Eugene D'Aquilli, Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief.

There is no need to posit that people believe in deity because of fear, or in order to explain nature, etc. Those old theories, which originated hundreds of years ago, have been outdated by contemporary science, especially neuroscience.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

They were taught that way.

It is easier than learning tons of science.

The Creation hypothesis explains more than the Big Bang Theory.

Fear of Hell.

Etc.

 

[Willamena]

Why do you think people believe in gods or other such religious stuff?

Religious stuff, I'm still struggling to figure out why. But "god," that's easy.

Let's say I tell you a story, about a man with no name. The man with no name comes out of the wasteland carrying nothing but the clothes on his back. He strolls into town, right the down main street, hitches his pants up and takes out a bad guy with a single spit-ball! Then he walks off into the sunset, leaving behind a crowd of cheering townsfolk and their little dog.

This story has a meta-story. It's the story of a lady with no name, sitting in her office job typing illicitly on an Internet forum when she should be working, because she feels compelled to try to provide an answer to a question asked, even knowing that answer may not be liked, understood, or even respected. There will be no cheering townsfolk for her at the end of the day, although possibly a cheery little cat.

Thing is, this story also has a meta-story... someone is writing it, but since it's up to the lady with no name to write each of the three stories, her own meta-story gets shrouded, its writer hidden behind an impenatrable curtain. So she sits down to make up a story about her meta-story, and lo-and-behold! She is dismayed to find that people have mistaken her lovely nonliteral imagery, her brilliant metaphor and poetic parable, for fact. How sad. :sad:

I'd better get back to work.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

They were taught that way.

It is easier than learning tons of science.

The Creation hypothesis explains more than the Big Bang Theory.

Fear of Hell.

Etc.

You keep using that word (explains). I do not think it means what you think it means.