Do you believe in your religion because you have been conditioned?

Question

Lets be realistic...just because you really believe in it doesn't make it true does it? You believe in it because you have been told by people that it is true. People cannot be trusted because people will say things for their own gain and people exaggerate and fabricate.I would like the security of belonging to a religion but having an open mind that is true to myself prevents this. How can you be so arrogant to believe that your God is true?Do you believe in your God because of fear? Would we be better off without religion?Would we be better off taking responsibility for our own actions as a species rather than believing that the buck stops with a mystical figure that I believe groups of people have invented for control purposes?

Answer 1

Most people follow a religion because they've been indoctrinated into it. I used to be a Lutheran, because my parents raised me as a Lutheran. Now I'm an atheist.

Yes, I go agree that gods are not real and people should think for themselves.

Answer 2

Equal logic... just because you dont believe in it doesnt make it cease to exist if it does right? You dont believe because people told you it's not true. People cannot be trusted because people will say things for their own gain and people exaggerate and fabricate. I would like the security of believing there is no God but having an open mind that is true to myself prevents this. Do you not believe in God because of fear? Would we be better off taking responsibility for our sins and repenting rather than just thinking God is a mystical figure that people throw away for controll purposes?

Answer 3

Wow, there's a lot of questions in there. Let's see:
I was raised Christian, but fell away from it when I was 13. That's how old I was when I started having questions that it seemed no one could answer.
For twelve years, I went my own way (Wicca for six years, agnostic for the other six). I only recently came back.
While it's true that people can't be trusted, the Bible was written by so many different people, many of which faced horrible deaths for their faith. They had nothing to gain.
How can I be so arrogant? Simple. I did plenty of research (what do you think I was doing the last six years before I became a Christian again?).
No, I do not believe in God out of fear.
No, I don't think that the world would be better off without religion, although perhaps we would be better off without mankind twisting religion to suit their own purposes.
Yes, we should take responsibility for our actions. I don't depend on the Bible completely for my morality. I know that as a human, I'll sometimes fall short (as do we all), and I also realize that what may be "permissible may not be beneficial."
Ultimately, it is MY choice to be a Christian, just as it's YOUR choice to not be.

Answer 4

I was interested in religion ALL of my life. While people were always saying NOT to talk about it, I always wanted to. I understand now it's because I was searching for the truth. Every time I heard "Untruths" before I became a Christian, something in my gut told me it was "off", somehow....by the same token when I heard the pure unadulterated Gospel for the first time when I was 28yrs old, I knew I was hearing the truth; however I hated what I was hearing! OH YES, I put up many arguments and debates against it, until finally, I just surrendered to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and TRUSTED Jesus. So I stepped out on FAITH, and my life changed COMPLETELY! So you see, it's not conditioning, it was investigation, and finally with an act of my will, I Trusted.

Answer 5

Religion is the opiate of the people.
Be humble and work hard in this life and you will be rewarded in the next,the church got most of your money.
Do not eat the flesh of the pig, they had to put this into their religion as so many people would eat pork that was off.
Shave your hair for your religion, there was so much lice and fleas they had to make it against their religion
The meek shall inherit the earth, Yeh all six feet of it.
It is the biggest money machine and started by the rich to keep the poor down and I suppose to keep law and order.
Have you noticed there are no more burning bushes and parting of the seas since television was invented.
John Lennon's Imagine says it all.

Answer 6

There is nothing like fear of religion. For i, believe that god is one and he shud be worshipped for the peace of mind. However, some people are fighting useless for thier religions. Because of the mistake of 1 or few, the whole community suffers. For eg. a muslim person has done a theft in a hindus house and now the blame goes on to the muslim community (not the mistake of the whole community), try to understand my point.
Same happens on the bais of country, sex and class. People don't understand that our religion teaches us that we all r human beings and we all shud strive for humanity.

Answer 7

To further demonstrate your thoughts here, take racism. Why are people racist? Answer - because they have been conditioned, taught, programmed if you will, to think in that manner. Some people truly believe that one race is inferior to another. Clearly, this does not make it true. But I really believe, you say? Maybe it's time you stop believing what people tell you and explore the reality of what is around you.

Answer 8

No I believe my religion is the right and only religion from God. I became a muslim after 25 1/2 years of being a christian. I actually studied and did the comparative religion thing. I do not have blind faith. I was called to Islam by God and nothing else. I came from the darkness to the light. Alhumdulilah. Allahu Akbar

Answer 9

I think that you have to think for yourself on this matter at a certain point when you're able to make an educated decision for yourself. It's whatever you truly believe IS real though, you believe the shown proof or not. It's not just black and white like that though, beliefs can definitely be bent, as if believing some aspects but not others.

Answer 10

I used to believe in my religion because I was conditioned as everyone who is born in a religious family is. But now, I believe in my religion because I know it is the right one. By knowing I don't mean that I force people and fight with them illogically to impress upon them my opinion. Rather, I have learned through knowledge what is right and what is wrong.

There is no my God, your God, their God etc. There is ONLY ONE GOD. How do I know that? Who told me that? From your question it appears you will be interested in an answer. Please drop me an email so we can dicuss it in detail.

We as muslims take responsibility for whatever we do, as we would be held answerable and accountable for each and every thing we have done and will do in our lives.

Yes people cannot be trusted. That is absolutely true. I am not telling you to trust me. What I am saying is lets both go along and take things as they come. Remember I will always discuss things with you on the basis of logic.