About 94% of Americans (more or less) believe in some sort of God or deity. Now, they may not all be of the same religion, and they may be very diverse, but when was the last time we have gotten 94% of the population to agree on anything?
Since so many are believers, it seems like people have an innate need and desire to have a higher being in their lives. What does that tell you?
Oh, and I'm an agnostic.
2007-11-16 09:21:01 · 46 answers · asked by Uliju 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Almost everyone believes that the reason that things float around inside the Space Shuttle when it's in orbit is because "there's no gravity up there". That's completely and demonstrably false, and yet that belief is probably more widespread than is belief in gods, at least among people who have ever thought about the question.
There are probably quite a few more people who believe that evolution is progressive than there are who know that it is not.
In fact, the world around us is full of surprises - things about which most of us hold false beliefs. The whole "god" thing is the most obvious example.
2007-11-16 09:29:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
More than 94% of people don't believe in the same god. And there can't be a more divided group than Christians.
So people have an innate desire to feel controlled? That doesn't give them the right to impose that control on anyone else.
2007-11-16 09:27:41 · answer #2 · answered by Bad Liberal 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I haven't done any research on it, but I think you can find 94% of Americans who believe in a lot of things, or, at least "say" they believe it in order to keep from getting in trouble with their neighbors, their relatives or the government. After all, we have no other choice but to live here and people have done much worse things in order to survive.
People don't want to believe this is their life and their only life. So, they hope and believe in an afterlife and a higher power to make that happen. The thought of this life being the end and, after that, nothing else, is too ominous.
2007-11-16 09:35:49 · answer #3 · answered by Deana 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It tells me that 94% of Americans have an innate need and desire to have a higher being in their lives.
2007-11-16 09:28:17 · answer #4 · answered by whtknt 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It souns like you're saying 94% of the population believes in god, therefore there is a god. What I think you mean is 94% of people believe in god so there must be a personal, emotional benefit to believing. It works for some people, but then so does Two and a Half Men.
2007-11-16 09:25:48 · answer #5 · answered by Peter D 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
94% of Americans once thought it was perfectly acceptable to own slaves too. Does that mean it was right? 94% of people once thought the world was flat. Did that make it true?
The capacity for an overwhelming majority of people to subsribe to a completely ludicrious notion is tremendous. And it's in no way an indication of truth or accuracy.
2007-11-16 09:43:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
A majority of people needing and desiring something doesn't mean that something is real. I'm sure 94% (At least) of lottery players think that someday they will win, otherwise why would they be playing? Many people think Elvis is still alive. Many people are sure that people can communicate with the dead. Wanting something to be real doesn't make it real.
2007-11-16 09:27:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It tells me that people are gullible when something is believed by a large majority. At one time, more than 94% of the world believed the world was flat but that didn't make it true, though...
2007-11-16 09:26:39 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
And now look beyond the borders of your country and ask again. And "some sort of God" is not really a good qualifier once you consider the broad spectrum of attributes assigned to these supernatural fictions. And finally, might does not make right. Just because everyone believes the earth is flat doesn't make it so.
2007-11-16 09:24:31 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The majority with a genetic predisposition toward believing in a higher power knowing what is best for them and a few who don't...
Sounds like the makings of a society of a few leaders and many followers...
Lets see how could we have arrived at that situation? If you take a tribe with all followers, no one leads and they have no cohesion or direction, all leaders and they wind up fighting for control and probably killing themselves off, but a few leaders and many followers doesn't that sound like a healthy tribe that would pass on their genes.
Of course if I were one of those predisposed toward following I'm not certain I would brag about it.
2007-11-16 09:25:22 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋