The psychological background of religion?

Question

I have always wondered how religious people are so attached to their religion teachings, I do believe that the reasons behind are purely internal, NOT external:

- They want to find a purpose of life, anything without a purpose has no meaning.

- They fear death and can't accept the possibility of being insignificant, they want to unite with their loved ones again.

-The injustice of life, people like to believe that one day justice will be established, it doesn't matter now or in the so called after life.

I see that religions and Gods through history are exactly the results of people emotions and psychology.

I do understand that the reasons above are crucial to some people, but we should understand that certain minds are so logic-oriented that have taken themselves out of the merely personal.The clash between emotional and logic minds will continue to be a landmark of humanity.

This is open to discussion and not intended to offend? I appreciate if u could add more reasons, Thx

Answer 1

You're right, to an extent. There IS a psychological desire to believe in God. We are each wired towards whichever path we choose. The evidence for THIS is in the fact that a person can choose no religion, after being raised in a religious home, or choose a religion after being raised in a non-religious home.

However, while some believe out of fear of death, not all of us do. I can tell you, I've never feared death, ever. I grew up surrounded by it; I was always taught that it was a natural part of life. That's how my dad explained it to me (he was more philosophical than my mom), and I've always remembered it, even though he, too, died when I was young.

Anyway, there's also locale; it plays a small part. If a person is raised in an atheistic environment, it's LESS likely (but not impossible) that they'll wind up being religious.

Your other two reasons for believing are actually pretty close to the mark. But why should this be a bad thing? Without God, there is no purpose, and there is no balance. Without God, the entire universe is just...ordered chaos. But I wouldn't say that it is.

It wouldn't bother me that there's no heaven (if there isn't). What would bother me is that there's no place where those who have lived lives of selfishness, murdering and raping anyone they chose, receive their just reward. It would be TERRIBLY unjust if people like Adolf Hitler just got off for what they did. Don't you think?

If the end of life is all there is, then not only is YOUR life empty, not only is MY life empty, but the entire universe is empty. Our very existence is meaningless.

Many atheists say with certainty that life is meaningless, that our existence is empty. But have they REALLY thought about what that means?

When I was an atheist, I stated the same thing, over and over: "There is no god, when you die that's it, you become worm food." When those foolish religious people (so I saw them) would try to tell me otherwise, I simply laughed at their gullibility. But it never hit me (until much later) what it truly MEANT if the universe was meaningless. This is where existentialism stems from.

Anyway, sorry for the long answer, I kind of floated here and there with my thoughts, but it really is an interesting question. I'm giving you a star.

I have so many more reasons to believe in God now, other than what you stated. The two I agree with you on play a VERY small part. But again, I do believe that people have a psychological NEED to believe. But this doesn't make it any less valid.