Why are there more religious people in the world than non-religious?

Question

It's a fact; most of the world's population is religious, largely made up of sikh, muslim, christian

Answer 1

Did you ask everyone to get your statistics, or is this just a guess?

Answer 2

Boy once again people here dispute the facts. At least a dozen different sources state that 85% or more of the people in the world subscribe to a religion, a religious belief or a diety.

The Muslims, alone, here will tell you they are over 1 billion strong. The Christians over 2 billion, the Hindus almost a billion. That's over half the population of the world.

Answer 3

Because not so long ago... religion was an integral part of life and everyone had to belong to a religion... otherwise you were an outcast.

It was not until the sexual revolution of 1960 that people started questionning the church and falling out.
And the reason they did fall out was because the church did not approve of the pill as a contraception for women.

The funny thing about this... is that despite the pill... our population doubled between 1959 and 1999... from 3 billion to 6 billion. But of course... it was only the Western World who was using the pill. If the whole world had used it... like Africa, India and China... those countries would be a lot better off today.

Answer 4

Firstly we must see the point of having a religion-and this came from many years ago, when man could not explain the happenings that occured around him-like the rising and setting of the sun, or volcano eruptions and things like that. so, religion was needed as a basis for living to satisfy man's curiosity. This is because of man's most greatest quality that differentitates him from other animals-curiosity.

anyway, now that we know the earth spins and the red liquid is actually magma from inside the earth, we may not need religion. But, we have made the world so complicated that many a time, people fall into this big hole where there is poverty, starvation, and stuff like that. So, they need a belief to keep them going, when the whole world is against them. These beliefs come from religion.

so, religion can be seen as an aid to humans. well, maybe only to those who have problems. but even tiny sentimental things that no-one can do anything about can make people very depressed, like a childhood toy falling into the loch ness lake or something. here, things like praying and meditaion and the peacefulness of a temple or a church help them to recover.

but the most important point of a religion is that it gives people morals and literature and life guides and so many other good things to live life as a good person. Religions have survived a long period of time and stem from very long ago when people werent as bad and complicated as the people today. so, when we look at these morals and stuff we get a glimpse of what a good life was really like when great people like Jesus and the prophets and the gurus and the hermits lived. for a world where a good life means fame, fortune and a big comfy mansion religion tells them what a good life really is.

so as u can see religion has many uses and benefits and goodness. even now unanswerable questions are answered through religion, to satisfy people's curiosity. if not, there would be no answers and people would be in a frenzy to find out answers and they wont rest. this may be good in one way, but it spoils people's happiness and the good things of life and they would waste their lives finding out things that mostly arent even required for a proper decent life on Earth. I dont think people really MUST know that the earth rotates on its axis and that they MUST know that insects have exoskeletons and they MUST know how many steps a person makes on average every day.

this is why i follow a religion-which is hinduism. which religion isnt important, becoz all the different religions are just different paths to reach god, which, like i hav said, is good for us.

i hope u are clearer now =)

Answer 5

Both religion and science are meant to offer an explanation for the reality in which we live. They cannot be united because they compete with each other.

Religion requires no effort to explain reality. Any primitive brain can explain the "mysteries" of nature and life with religion. There are billions of people like that!

Science requires a love for the truth. That takes effort and honesty. There are few people like that.

The masses are made up of followers and believers. They do not change the world. They are just dead weight.

It’s the few people who dedicate their lives to searching the truth through reason, logic and science who move the world, make history, and give all the rest of mankind better opportunities to live happier. The few are the heroes and the leaders.

Answer 6

I.E., I'm not sure that's a valid argument, since there are way more Buddhists or Muslims (take your pick) than Christians.

I think it's more likely that we are as a species curious about the unknown. As such, we continually come to these walls that can not be explained away by science or reason. So we develop personal myths about them. Then we share myths with other people, coming to a consensus about it or not. Those that do, eventually decide that since they all agree basically on the same thing, it must be TRUE. Poof, religion

It's those that want to know more about the unknown, but realize not everything can be explained by science or reason, that are religious...or as I prefer saying, spiritual.

Answer 7

1.Even today, much of our physical world remains unknown and nothing scares humans more that uncertainty and the unknown. In pre-literate times, religions came into being as ways to explain the unknown.

2.Brainwashing that begins at birth and continues as individuals mature is a power force.

3.Torturing, killing, and socially-politically marginalizing those who do not believe have been used successfully to deal with those who stray from the chosen path.

4.There may be something in our brain-chemistry that predisposes us to a belief in imaginary supreme beings.

5.Or, maybe it means nothing more than most people are intellectually lazy and never learn to think objectively or critically.

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Socinian F -

It is generally better not to repeat talking points based on fabrications and ignorance as it gives the appearance that you did not get much out of your school-experience. In case you are ever interested, there is an epistemology of human knowledge that grants you access to the reality-based world.

Answer 8

The same reason there are more natural "followers" than natural "leaders".

Look at the people the religions are based on....Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, Vishnu, Lao Tzu, Krishna, etc...

Not one of them followed a religion without question.....they set out and followed their own moral compass and religions were constructed around their beliefs.

Answer 9

If that were true it would be because the majority of the world population live in 3rd world countries or trailer parks

Answer 10

Because most religious people are like mushrooms they are kept in the dark and fed a life time of religious crap.

Answer 11

Many people find comfort in believing that someone, or something, is actually affecting their lives and controlling the outcome of their decisions.

It's much easier than taking responsibility (or credit) for their actions, I suppose...

-SD-