To Atheists only, what causes people to believe in God?

Question

The last time I asked this question, I got a bunch of bible Jesus freaks pretending to be Atheists.

ATHEISTS ONLY, ATHEISTS ONLY

God believers, read and see how much Atheists know about you

Answer 1

But you can't ask Atheists what causes people to believe in God, Atheists don't believe in God, so I wager many of them don't know.

I wasn't implying that they didn't know anything about religion or the people who believe in one-I do not follow a religion myself-I was simply stating that many don't know WHY a person converts to a religion.

Answer 2

Well in the modern day it's more that it's been a tradition for so long that people are raised with it around them and that's just what they believe. However, it can also be, and started as, a way to explain things that we have no way of knowing so some people can sleep at night. The problem with that is that if we all think we have the answers and they're wrong there isn't anyone finding the real answers.

Then of course there are the traps that were devised just to trap people such as heaven or hell. Some people who are raised with the faith but aren't devout are just scared to leave it because they don't want to go to whatever terrible place their religion promises them, or they really want to go to heaven.

But again it goes back to a feeling of security and tradition. Some people's minds aren't strong enough to accept that this could be all there is, and still need a mommy to hide behind when life's big issues scare them, and the nearest mother figure is the most popular religion in your area. I really don't care who believes what to help them sleep, everyone deserves to be happy, but when they start pushing it on other people it's hard not to point out their fraudulent claims and fallacious logic and how much the world as a whole needs no religion. If you attack me or what I know to be true I'll point out why you're wrong, if that's offensive then keep your personal beliefs personal.

Answer 3

Pick your choice:

1) The need to believe in something that will release you from any responsibility in the outcome of your actions. I mean, if things are screwed, you can always say "That's what God wants".

2) The need to give yourself an answer (even if a mistaken one) to the greatest of all questions: What happens after death.

3) The fear that, IF God exists, you'll go to hell for not believing.

4) The huge campaign by the church for centuries, to brainwash people into believing.

5) Habit.

6) Their parents were religious.

7) Not to piss your parents off.

8) Not to piss society off.

9) Not to give a bad impression of yourself.

10) The possibility of socialising in church.

11) The possibility of doing something good (even though that will eventually be capitalised by the church).

12) A genuine and entirely respectable conviction that God exists.

Answer 4

God and religion are good evolutionary solutions to a brain that is curious about how things work. Evolution brings about neural programming that doesn't tell us how the world works; it tells us how to survive. This means that our minds have just enough inherent information to decipher what we are sensing to determine an immediate course of action. Once the brain began requiring more information, our human ancestors didn't have any real way of figuring out the solutions to the questions. The brain defaulted to its old genetic tricks and provided a path to gain enough information just to get by. We didn't need to know about powered flight in the stoneage because there was no immediate benefit to human survival since we couldn't build anything capable of doing it. Gravity might as well have been God pushing down on us. God was a convenience that allowed early man to go about his daily life without having to think too hard, which in the time of the hunter-gatherer is a benefit.

This is why your education, immediate motivations and background will determine your beliefs. If you are not exposed to objective studies when you are reasonably young, if you are taught to not question specific topics or if you are not encouraged to pursue paths of empirical understanding you may default to a "good enough" position for any given topic. How many drivers know how their cars work? How many say, "it works, I don't care?" How many get on a airplane and have no idea how it operates? How many people on this site have read the scientific journals about genes, evolution and the latest advances in both fields? Not many. Your genes don't care how smart you are or that you are right (particularly on philosophical matters) so long as you have enough information to stay alive.

Religion provided evolutionary benefit by allowing cooperation among non-family groups which game theory demonstrates will out perform rigid family hierarchies. Any organization that can facilitate networking will do better because they improve the probability that individuals of that organization can get a hold of the right people to get whatever they need done. Religions can also act as an equalizing force among stratified populations by espousing that "all people are equal in the eyes of God." This again increases the opportunities for networking.

Why then do people still believe in God? Because our brains aren't terribly different from early man so the answers will convince our brains just as well if we haven't another explanation that makes more sense, and time is still precious. The idea of God empowers many to think they have more control of the world than they would like to admit. People aren't keeping strict tabs on the probability of their prayers being answered, so they default to what makes them comfortable. Also, people are making lots of money off of God and religion (some getting in trouble with the law because of it) so it's too their benefit to keep up the practice. It certainly worked well for the Catholic Church and any other heirarchy that declared themselves part of the "divine right of kings."

Answer 5

As far as there remains things outside human control, the belief in God will be there. People's helplessness is one of the many causes of their belief.
I am not atheist but answered your question because of its importance. Sorry for that.

Answer 6

They want to feel safe in a world of the unknown. They like rules and they like to enforce them (in fact they love to enforce rules). They only know what they were taught and that's good enough for them. It's easier to just accept the "rule of thumb" and be safe than to question what is obviously flawed. They like to feel superior...I know this part very well. I love my brother, but he was a self-righteous jerk when he was going through his religious phase. They want to live in a "safe" environment where they can reap havoc on the insignificant sinner.

Answer 7

The question you should ask yourself is what causes you Not to believe in God?

Answer 8

Just curious but why would you ask an athiest (someone who denies god) what causes people to believe in God... You already know that you are going to get bias answers so why waste your time. This has got to be the dumbest question on here. If I were you I would do the world a favor and go kill myself.

Answer 9

im an atheist, i think i know.

i think i might actually write a peper on this....

1. the promise. heaven...simple as that./...theyve been sold on the idea of heaven....hell even i like the idea. peopel want to spend eternity in a magical place. thats why you have stories like peter pan. a quick comparison of peter pan and jesus shows alot of similarities. heaven is neverland, a place where you never grow old and where evrything is provided for you. paradise baby! people like that...that a reason why they beleive.

2 is the opposite. the threat of hell. people are afraid of the idea of being tortured for all of eternity...and it is all of eternity. they dont like the idea so they become good little christians out of fear. bullies use the same process the bible does in order to get money out of kids. the process is this: "give me your money or suffer". in the bible its "beleive in me or suffer eternal fire".

people dont want to suffer so they beleive. combine the 2 things and you get the reason why most people beleive in religions (christianity mainly) they want to go to heaven and theyre afraid to go to hell.

Answer 10

People who believe in God are weak and naive. They actually used to pay priests to absolve them of "sins." Can you believe that crap?

Let them congregate. No way i'd want to surround myself with those kinds of people.