Why do people believe in god?

Question

I am a 100% atheist. My parents were also atheists BUT they gave me the option. I was shown where the church was and it was suggested that I go find out what religion was all about. Note that I was not dictated to by my parents but given the choice; allowed to make up my own mind. Of course, as a small child, one is very impressionable and the tendency is that, at that age, one simply absorbs everything one is told as the undeniable truth. So, my early church attendances were, even at a tender age, used as a oeriod of analysis. As far as I remember, it may have been at the age of 12 when I began to have serious doubts about the 'truth' and it must have been at the age of 15 when I finally stepped over the line and announced to myself that I was a non-believer.
So, along with the tooth-fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, the concept of there being a paranormal supreme being living up in the sky somewhere and observing every move and every thought that everyone in the world was ha

ving and doing was dumped for a ture sense of the reality of life.

It is true that the human species has more or less always NEEDED a religion of some sort or another and we look back at history and the man-made religions of the past and are amused by the child-like actions of the ancients. Now, I admit to being amused by the stupidity of any religious person but particularly by those who follow the 'teachings' of the child-molester, sex-offender who invented Islam, who took Christianity and judaism and modified them to suit himself and local conditions.

I have a story that I tell those with religion which explains exactly why religion is a man-made invention but, naturally, many do not want to listen. I don't have enough space to tell it here ... think children, control, fear, reward, lies, false promises - you'll get the idea. Think also of indoctrination of children in every religion around the world - perpetuation of the myth, continuing the biggest confidence trick ever.

Having gone through some of the answers so far, there is the usual nonsense - lots of that! There are one or two, maybe three, who have a brain that is alive and well.
To the person who bet me that I would pray when I or my family are in trouble - you lost your shirt. Not going to happen. Pointless
To the person who saw me as being 'confused' - how wrong you are. How very wrong.
And so the myth continues, with the offspring of the indoctrinated spouting the usual childlike waffle.
Get a life. there is nothing beyond it.
Be good, because that is civilised.
The ten commandments make sense but the rest of the bible is largely lies and exaggerations plus a few bedtime stories for the mentally weak.
Live your life on this earth and make the most of it, as there are no virgins awaiting the Muslims and there are no harp-playing angels to entertain you.
If you are tempted to give me any answer but a realistic one, don't bother. I have heard all those simplistic ones before.
Dream on

Answer 1

Fine, good to depend on proof, instead of blind belief.
But trust is not belief.
Also, as a human, and being endowed with self-awareness (at least acceptably better than animals), we owe it to ourselves to have an open mind to really care to see any possibility beyond normal levels of perception, normal inputs through sense organs.
How to go about is a question that can arise only if the open-ness is coupled with a deep urge to seek !

Answer 2

Performance artist Laurie Anderson once said that "Talking about 'art' is like dancing about 'architecture.'" I believe you can replace 'art' with 'religion' in that phrase and it would be just as true.

Humans simultaneously exist in a concrete, physical world and an abstract, aesthetic one. Language, as a creation of the concrete world can never fully explain a personal belief structure, which is a product of the abstract/aesthetic.

You might as well ask "Why do people speak French?" You can talk about culture, linguistic traditions and so on, but you are actually only explaining the "How" part, and not the "Why."

The problem is that too many people believe that their chosen belief structure defines their entire existence ---Just drop by the "Politics & Government" section to get a good dose of that. The fact is that whether or not you believe in God has less to do with your morality than how you live your life and the choices you make every moment of each day. Similarly, how intelligent you are is not defined by what you know (or choose to believe), but by how you are able to make use of the knowledge you have.

People believe because it is their nature to do so. It's really as simple--and as complex--as that.

Answer 3

Most are programmed to do so. I know that by experience. My siblings believe, but I don't. I am more intelligent than they are. I was sent to church every Sunday, for Mom's father was a pastor. I had doubts about the family religion when I was age 7 or 8. My dinosaur books said the Earth is far older than the Bible indicates. My sister believes it is a sin to even question her religion, and some people prayed to remove the demon of Buddhism from me when I attended Zen services. Some people with atheist parents rebel against it for various reasons. Some people are terrified of the realization that death is final, so they want to hear malarkey about eternal life in Heaven. It sounds boring and grim to me. I think dying is best if it is permanent. Believing is an emotional reaction, not a logical one. Even some people who should know better are overcome by emotions and want to believe nonsense.

Answer 4

Well. First I believe understanding the concept of religion at such an early age is difficult and I would urge you to re investigate again the possibility of a God. Or maybe you are starting to here with this question.

Philosophically I have the argument that religion is a futile attempt to justify ones existence and either actions or lack there of.

Personally from a 47 year old who had for a while lost my faith and later found my faith again. I would say: I believe because God is real and salvation will come to those who believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. I can attest these facts through miracles that have taken place in my life.

Answer 5

I've given a lot of thought to that question myself. And what it basically comes down to is, people believe because they WANT to believe. Not just in gods, but in other stuff: supernatural phenomena, political beliefs, morals, etc.

Belief in gods is of course arational, if not irrational. But it does seem to fill one or more psychological or emotional needs of people. Explaining our origins, enforcing morality standards, strengthening community bonds, giving hope to those who otherwise might feel hopeless, providing people an idealized authority figure they can trust, or just giving people that warm fuzzy feeling inside.

I have yet to see a truly rational reason for believing in gods, but then the whole notion of gods simply is outside the bounds of the rational. I view belief in gods as a sort of psychological crutch; for some people, they need this crutch to get by. But for those of us with healthy psyches (as with healthy legs), a crutch becomes more of an impediment than a source of strength.

Like you, I'm pretty much a lifelong atheist for as long as I've done any serious thinking about theology. My parents are not atheist (that I know of), but neither are they regular churchgoers. I had serious doubts about religion by the time I was 14 or 15, but even as a kid going to Sunday school the whole god-and-religion idea always seemed creepy and unnatural to me.

Some time ago (before the world of blogs) I wrote a web page you might be interested in, "Why I'm an Atheist." My standing as an atheist has actually gotten much more sophisticated since then, but you may enjoy reading my reasons anyway. See link below.

Answer 6

I can see why it's easy to be a nonbeliever if your conception of God is a person who lives in the sky, that's the way it is described to most people in churches and literature. To me you could call it God, God(s) and Goddess(es), the Universe, whatever. It's just that feeling that there is something more going on in the world than what you can see. Personally I find it hard to believe that everything in the world could have been created and is going on out of sheer coincidence, that makes me skeptical! But I'm not a big fan of most religions either, though I like to learn about different systems of belief. My own beliefs are pretty basic but not rigid, I am open to learning and experiencing new things and that's how I like it.

Answer 7

Heya man ...
I doubt that you are a 100% atheist - seems like most part of atheist are about 90% ( at least open minded - as seems like you are one of them )( and me as well )
Well - The most atractive idea about god is the idea of perfectness in every mather, and prediction of future events depending of what believer do.
Believing is "Some kind of mind control", developed trought centuries to keep detemined group of people united ( fall at same idea ).

Well - now back to your question - when open minded people, that hard accept nonsenses like faith in fairy tales, sometimes fall on reminding about difference with common people.
It usualy happends whn open minded people life move trought critical period.
Anyway if you keep open minded you will never reach more than 90% atheist - a 100% atheist - i can determine as a human dedicated to The Idea of rejecting others believes - that i will say that is correct, but still there is a time before people understand blindness coming from religions.

Well - good luck - hope i enlight you in dark hour :P

Answer 8

It begins with the convictions of parents, like so much else. But it continues because that kind of parenting does not teach children to think, or have confidence in their own mentality. So they grow up needing a security blanket, and some kind of certainty, unable to live with knowing their own ignorance. Clinging to childish fancies of a "Father" God, and the rest, provides i that certainy and comfort, however delusory. It's a kind of infantalism. That's why believers need to convince others, and why they are so alarmed (frightened) by challenge. Poor sods. I too come from a long line of free thinkers, but went to Sunday Schools with my mates as a kid. They certainly lost me when they said I was a "sinner", and tried to create a sense of guilt - a sure way of giving power to priests. And they didn't know the Bible as well as I did, either! Good luck!

Answer 9

Dear atheist... I feel for you! Your "question" screams "confusion" in so many ways it's hard to find a start point on how to answer your question(s?)!
Here we go:
First and most important: RELIGION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH GOD!!! I'm a strong believer in God but I do not follow any religion and that was my decision after researching all the religions out there and finding out that they really exist mostly to control people and I just couldn't accept that!..
To me, God is everything around and inside us! We are God, just like you are a part of your parents because you came from them and just like you name a piece of art after its creator because you can see the artist in it...his essence!
I understand where you're coming from by having parents who are atheists and by seeing what's been going on in this crazy world of ours!.. I must confess that I find myself a bit dissapointed sometimes too. But at least I know that humans are just harvesting whatever they had planted!
Human beings are selfish and oportunists, therefore they will always want to have "something" or "someone" to save them from the consequences of their own actions (Global warming is a great exemplo!), and that's why they either believe in a God or not: it depends on the fact that "God" has to prove its existence by doing something impossible like saving someone's life in an impossible situation, and when that happens; we call it "miracle"!
I feel like I'm lucky for having had the parents I did who taught me strong principles (things you don't see nowadays!) who can serve me as a basis for being a good human being. And for that, I did not need to become a catholic person like my mother or be part of any religion in order to be good.
I know in my heart that I'm a good person because I respect and love other creatures and can understand that anyone can have a bad day and become an ***-hole! That alone makes me believe in a higher power I like to call "God" (of course, there are so much more to be thankfull for in life!)!!!
Don't feel guilty for not following the herd! All you need is to appreciate life and to try your hardest to be a good and noble human being, even if you don't have anything to call "God", get it?

Answer 10

I would have to say that people need a supreme being to rely and refer to. Alot of times it does not even require a belief as much as a need. God is more of a scape goat to many nonetheless a way of coping. I believe in God and the Bible to refer and guide me on the path of least resistance.
It is difficult in times where the world is at despair to find a sole reason for existence. Therefor "God", which ever it may be, becomes more and more required relieve a life of angst and hatred toward humans.As uncontrollable and animalistic as .........God made us!!!