I think more people practice religion than actually believe it. If it improves their lives to live within a set of rules, to have a community, etc. There’s plenty we don’t know and most people have some sort of “belief” about the unknown, I don’t think most people actively believe all the dogma even if they follow the steps.
Despite our advancements, there are still a multitude of questions that science simply doesn’t have a sufficient answer for, and possibly never will. Not knowing the answers to these profound and existential questions can cause anxiety and stress in some individuals, but if they fill that knowledge gap with religion, spirituality, mysticism, or superstition, it suddenly becomes a lot less painful on their psyche. In short, some people need religion because they are unable to cope without it.
Our species simply hasn’t had enough time to be subjected to the kinds of selection pressures that would filter out such individuals. The opposite is probably happening, considering the strong correlation between people who have multiple children and people who identify as belonging to a certain religious sect or group. Perhaps it will always be a flaw of the human race, to seek out knowledge that we can’t understand and ascribe meaning to it so that we might make ourselves feel more important than we truly are in a vast cold universe.
Religions are sort of like mind viruses. The ones that have survived have done so because they are very good at taking root and multiplying in the human mind. Sort of a natural selection of ideas. They develop the necessary features like a way to ignore contrary evidence and severe consequences for not believing
You’re presupposing there was nothing at one point. We know that is the case for the physical universe because otherwise entropy would have ended actions an eternity ago. An eternal being not subject to the laws of thermodynamics has no logical need for a beginning.
Religion isn’t just about evolution and how old the earth is, those are distractions from the big issues. All of the knowledge in the world won’t help you deal with the questions, “Why am I here?”, “What is my purpose? What is the point of it all?”, “Do we just die and disappear?” Knowing all the science in the world won’t make you feel at peace with these questions.
We are emotional creatures who are sadly aware of our mortality. Many need a parental figure to keep us in line, “God is watching”, and a companion for loneliness and hopelessness, “Jesus loves you” when no one else will or can help. It can feel like you have some protection against things overwise out of your control (disasters, wars, sudden deaths, accidents, illness, etc). Many people like the structure it brings their life and the comradery from being part of a like-minded group. Some join the military for this, some go into orthodox religions thick with rules and traditions, like Hassidic Jews. It can lead to a strong tribalism too, same with politics, where you instinctively distrust those who believe differently but feel you can trust those who do because you feel you understand what they feel and think.
I know many extremely bright people who are religious, but I do agree with what your saying. Nothing wrong with having existential dread. Such is the human condition.
It’s not about what an individual could know, it’s about what they do know and how structured is a person’s thinking.
So just because out there somewhere there are tons of explanations for tons of things doesn’t mean people actually know them (lots if not most is quite obscure or requires understanding of a lot of other things first before you can trully understand those things) plus people have to think in very structure ways to spot gaps or flaws in what they thing they know and go look for better info.
And this is just the Logic level problem.
The Emotional level stuff is way more important. Religion:
provides easy non-scary explanations for tons of things which can be terrifying to accept as just random (Massive Earthquake, killing hundreds of thousands: “It’s the will of Deity” is a calming explanation which implies “someDeity” has control)
provides hope for one’s and one’s loved one’s future (Granny died: “She’s gone to Heaven!”)
makes the World seem so much simpler and hence understandeable for anybody by explaining away all complexity (All those lights in the night-sky: “There was a fight between the SunGod and the MoonGod during which his rays pierced the black veil that surrounds us”).
for those born into it, it’s just familiar and “the way people think”.
And last but not least, Religion is a ready made tribe, generally mutually supporting, so it satisfies people’s lowest tribalist instincts and provides concrete benefits from being part of a social circle from which you can get help.
This also explains why supposedly Religious people are selective in what they believe from their religion (notice how almost none of Christians take to hearth the whole point of Christ casting out the Money Lenders from the Temple), why they don’t actually know all that much detail about their own Religion (if they don’t think in a way that helps them spot what they do not know, that gets reflected on not looking for more info both outside and inside religion) and why it’s so easy to manipulate people with religion (if the complexity of the world is explained as “blady, blady, blah, Deity”, those trusted to understand the Deity can make sure pretty much all complex things get reasoned as “Deity wills it so because my bullshit reason” - plus remember, religious types are the non-structured non-skeptic thinkers).
Eh…it’s easier than that. You know what you’re told growing up.
Kids who are abused think that’s normal. Kids who are abused with religion also think that’s normal.
Kind of like how your dad’s fav sports team is your fav too cuz reasons. If your dad was Muslim you probably will be too.
I have recently come to the conclusion that there are cognitively functional people with a sound mind that believe that it is not possible to know anything for sure. Like, it’s not possible to know if the scientists are telling the truth. We just have to take their word for it. Why not stick to the thousand year old belief system then? It has better apologists, armed with an experience of hundreds of years of demagogy and dogma regarding fending of criticism of said belief system.
That’s just the excuse they use. Sadly it works on a lot of people who think it’s a legitimate question when it’s not, and is in fact easily disproved.
Take away their wallet, phone or medicine and then ask them if they still aren’t sure. Or point a gun at their head and ask them if they’re not sure a bullet will blast through their skull and kill them if they don’t stop talking.
Or just tell them that means their religion is still bupkis because if we can’t be sure, we can’t accept it as true. Hold them to their standards.
Add comment