Why do all human civilisations believe in a God or Gods?

Question

I was wondering why Humans have a belief in god, there is no evidence for the existence of god, all there are, are holy books obviously written by man and full of inconsistencies, so why do humans beleive so consistently throughout the world in a god?

I am an athiest, but religion interests me personally.

Got an answer "You yourself are proof of Gods existence" eh, am I just being naïve by saying thats not really proof?

Ok, I should have said in the wording of my question "some" or "the majority" instead of "all"

On another answer about chance, I am well versed in Evolution by natural selection and also cosmic evolution and chance doesn't come into it.

Answer 1

It is a measure of human psychological programming. One of the inherent traits of a human that other animals lack is the ability to comprehend their own doom. Ideas regarding the existence of an afterlife and a powerful govenor(s) of such a realm are used to mitigate the terror invoked by such a disturbing concept.

The reason the aforementioned programming exists is because it increases the chances for human survival to an age at which they can procreate. Another way how religion is capable of fulfilling this requirement is by providing purpose to purposeless lives. Unlike other beasts of the field, humans have a need to feel like their lives have purpose, that they are means to some unknown, yet noble end. Religion is one method that a human can use to provide that purpose, and give a human reason to continue to exist independent of a fear of immediate death.

The entire universe is completely abstract and without organization or form. Once again, the only reason why the world just appears organized to humans is because their programming allows human minds to catagorize and easily reference information. This, more than the former two programming systems, is absolutely critical to human survival. However, it does present a significant flaw to the rational mind - if all things are organized, what organized them? In the Old Days, there was no easy way to answer this, so one was invented.

This may sound like bollocks, but there is one undeniable truth that supports the idea that GOD was invented by man and not the other way around - pretty much all religions reflect the conditions of the originating society. Smaller band and tribal societies tend to be more egalitarian and focus more on natural forces, so their gods tend to take those forms. They have many gods and they all control many diverse aspects of nature. As societies become more complex and become civilizations, pantheons have become more organized into reflections of those societies. Greeks and romans were more hierarchal than tribal and chiefly societies, and so their gods were organized in families with a god King and his subjects. Eventually, as rulers became more powerful and singular, the concept of only one all powerful god became popular, as it is to this day.

Human belief in a god is not required for survival as long as either alternative methods are used to satisfy the three requirements described above, or, far less likely, a human chooses to accept the more disturbing alternative - that we will pass into Oblivion when we die, that life has no purpose or meaning, and that the world is an absurd abstraction with no form or organization or purpose in its own nature.

Answer 2

There is evidence of God all over. Like the fact that there was a world wide flood about 4,000 years ago evidence of this includes...Over 250 Flood legends from all parts of the world have been found. Most have similarities to the Genesis story...The top 3,000 feet of Mt. Everest is made up of sedimentary rock packed with seashells and other ocean-dwelling animals...Sedimentary rock is found all over the world. Sedimentary rock is formed in water...Petrified clams in the closed position (found all over the world) testify to their rapid burial while they were still alive, even on top of Mt. Everest....The Bible says that the highest mountains were covered by 15 cubits of water. This is half the height of the ark. The ark was safe from scraping bottom at all times keep in mind The large mountains, as we have them today, did not exist until after the Flood (Ps. 104:5-9, Gen. 8:3-8). There are no contradictions in the Bible http://www.drdino.com/articles.php?spec=88

Answer 3

I too am an athiest and find it difficult to comprehend why so many belive in something that there is no proof of.

My overriding feeling is that it started out with people in powerful positions instilling 'the fear of god' in others to get them to follow a certain set of rules.

I Haven't studied the bible, nor do I got to church so confess that I'm not knowledgable on this subject. Perhaps I'm a bit shallow but I really don't get it.

As for people believing in God just in case they have to go to hell when they die... it all seems a bit silly to me really.

Chrisianity and other religions have some fantastic morals but so much of this is overshadowed by the mass suffering of wars which all seem to stem from religious belief.

Answer 4

Ah............a very good question.

Humans....good old homo sapiens...........

Since we (homo sapiens) have existed we have wanted to know where we came from.

The original (religious) thinkers made up stories that allowed us mere mortals to "understand", where we came from, with stories of angels, and wars with the devil, and all sorts of deities (eg. Krishna) that made the people who made up these stories, sort of higher beings, because they understood what happened, and the masses didnt.

The original religious thinkers, like the ones that have existed for centuries and exist today, will have you believe they know the creator intimately and you dont.

Its to their advantage monetarily and in terms of social esteem to have us believe the things they tell us are true.

There is a man who claims to be the living representative of god on earth.

I dont think I would like to be in his shoes, if the incredibly unlikely occurence of the second coming of christ occurred.

Talk about struck out of the book of life hahahahahaaaa.

In a nutshell we all want to know where we came from.

The story has been intriguing to us for ages.
Look at the story of Frankestien's monster.
What a pearler !

All the monster wanted to know was where it came from.

So there we all are.
Frankenstien's monsters wanting to know where we came from.

Thats why we have all those different concepts and ideas of where we come from.

They are wordly limp minded narrow interpretations of what created us and where we came from, put into print and changed so suit the human authors.

How amusing !

Unfortunately, these various writings tear us humans assunder.

Its too hard for us to think individually, so we let the "learned" ones amongst us tell us their interpretation, and if it sounds half good enough we will go along with it.

They gain you dont.

Ask yourself the questions and get your own answers.

Forget the "learned".

Answer 5

In a pre-scientific society, the presence of an omnipotent creator-being was as good an explanation as any for the world we observed.
As observation got better and the scientific process evolved, this ceased to be the case, but many people still haven't caught up!
Some people seem to need, at an emotional level, the irrationality of a tiny, 6000 year old universe personally managed by a celestial big-brother, and shut out all evidence to the contrary!

Answer 6

Humans seek to transcend our limitations. It is an innate drive. We see it manifested in various ways, outwardly and inwardly. An example of outward is science and seeking of knowledge about physical reality then transcending our limitations such as lack of flight with flying machines, making the invisible visible with microscopes and telescopes, etc. Another avenue is through an inward adventure to seek spiritual knowledge and discipline.

One way to understand this drive is that there is an ultimate source, an ultimate reality attracting us towards it from both the inside and the outside.

Historically, every 500 to 1000 years an individual comes along with new social and spiritual teachings and makes the staggering claim that this ultimate reality has sent them to educate humanity. From the application of the teachings of these universal educators on an individual and social level humanity makes great progress individually, the inward, and collectively, the outward. We could say that the teachings of these universal educators is a kind of impetus, propelling human knowledge and understanding forward to new heights. The pattern is hard to ignore.

Answer 7

Very interesting to think about sociologically.
Essentially it was created as a reason to explain things that couldn't have been explained. It evolved alongside mans knowledge of science and religious belief became this pacifying set of superstitions that we couldn't get rid of. The further along science goes the more unnecessary and the more ridiculous it becomes.
I think freud called religion childhood neurosis. And any neurosis with numbers that religions have make it encouraged and accepted.

Answer 8

Most of the time, men has always experienced fear. This fear sort of makes people to seek out help from a "higher being." This is very true among ancient people.

Belief in a God/Gods can also be caused by social stuff. Such as what parents believed and what they taught you.

Answer 9

I think God, for people, is like a cuddly toy to a child. It's a comfort to know there is somewhere they can turn in a time of need and the fact that there is somewhere to go after this life makes it easier to cope when things are hard to deal with. It eradicates the 'what's the point' question...

Answer 10

Firstly, it was a convenient way of explaining things before science enabled real explanations to be found. Secondly, it helps people cope with the idea of death and separation from their loved ones. They find comfort in the thought of an afterlife in a nice place where they'll be united with friends and family.