Billions of people claim to worship some sort of God. Yet no one on earth has made an actual proof that their God actually exists. Do people literally believe there religion is a fact and that everyone else on earth is wrong when they dont even have evidence outside of there church? Or is it more of a principal. Do people "believe" just because it "feels good" or because they generally agree with the theological concepts? It doesn't make sense to me.
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Do people really believe in there religion
- Thread starter Zeta
- Start date
I believe in the importance in knowing the difference between there, their and they're. Not to be nit picking but it does help for people to take you more seriously. I make mistakes myself, I just hate when I do it.
Proof is tough, it'd be kind of hard to prove what I had for breakfast but I personally know what I did or didn't have. I have personal experiences that, at the time, gave me certainty of God's existence.
Most of the believers I've talked to have said they've had some kind of experience which supported their beliefs. I find that if you believe strongly enough in something, have faith, you are likely to experience what supports the belief. Visions, dreams, signs. Whereas when you don't believe, you are less likely to have these types of experiences.
Does that say anything about what's true? Not really, just that your experiences or lack of them is personal.
Proof is tough, it'd be kind of hard to prove what I had for breakfast but I personally know what I did or didn't have. I have personal experiences that, at the time, gave me certainty of God's existence.
Most of the believers I've talked to have said they've had some kind of experience which supported their beliefs. I find that if you believe strongly enough in something, have faith, you are likely to experience what supports the belief. Visions, dreams, signs. Whereas when you don't believe, you are less likely to have these types of experiences.
Does that say anything about what's true? Not really, just that your experiences or lack of them is personal.
speaking as an adherent to a pseudo-religion, I find its a combination of agreeing with the concepts and that it is fulfilling. The two clash on a regular basis as both often flirt with subjects that are taboo. Working through that is both very difficult and deeply fulfilling.
If it wasn't for the fact it was so fulfilling and exhilerating and hits the power-addicts sweet spot at a primal level, it would be much easier to walk away from. The natural 'high' of communism has been compared to cocaine, and it is pretty accurate description of the manic grandeur of the ideology and seeing yourself as a small part of a bigger picture. the difference between it being a virtue and a vice is a healthy scepticism and the self-respect to research it and be sure you know what your really saying and thinking.
there are uncomfortable truths that the world isnt as simply or easy as it is 'supposed' to be.That keeps me asking questions, thinking "maybe there is something to this" and makes me dig deeper. The answers deserve much thinking and long walks and in that sense it is a spiritual path. often its not the highs, but the moment of peace when you start to pick up from the lows, that all things are possible and to love and hope is not a futile act, that keeps me going and coming back. I don't "believe" it but I learn to respect it and that makes it more acceptable. it is less a set of "truths" -as it is taken as given that absolute, perfect truth and knowledge is unobtainable- and more a "way" of approaching life and its problems.
Do people really believe in there religion?
Well, this is another question with no universal answer. Each person has to answer for themselves and I think you will see a spectrum from certainty to doubt.
Me personally, I really believe my religion (Advaita/Hindu) as I am one with a zeal to learn about paranormal and spiritual things I chose my religion (as opposed to being born into it) based on evidence and argumentation. Yes, I really believe in my religion beyond all reasonable doubt. I think the doubt factor the OP is asking about is higher among those following the religion they were born into.
Well, this is another question with no universal answer. Each person has to answer for themselves and I think you will see a spectrum from certainty to doubt.
Me personally, I really believe my religion (Advaita/Hindu) as I am one with a zeal to learn about paranormal and spiritual things I chose my religion (as opposed to being born into it) based on evidence and argumentation. Yes, I really believe in my religion beyond all reasonable doubt. I think the doubt factor the OP is asking about is higher among those following the religion they were born into.
Politesse
Amor Vincit Omnia
Literal belief is not the only legitimate form of religion, if you ask me. But there are certainly plenty of people who do literally believe in the canon of their faith, which I assume you know. Others don't, and participate for other reasons. So what is the purpose of this thread?
A question for you. What does "exists" mean?
It sounds like a simple question, perhaps, but delineating the nature of reality is no small pontification and has been debated in philosophy over the centuries. It seems to me that if we quit narrowly defining what "exists" means there is plenty of actual proof that various gods exist. Even if we keep narrowly defining what "exists" means, there is still plenty of proof that various gods exist. My gods, for example, are quite literally things like the sun, trees, and storms, so unless we want to suggest the sun doesn't exist, there's abundant proof of my gods.
Some do. Some don't. But to really understand a person's worldview, we have to dig deeper than this sort of thing.
See above. There are many, many reasons why people are as they are. I would caution us against oversimplifying that. It may be that things don't make sense to you because you're looking for a simplification that does not reflect the reality of things.
Akivah
Well-Known Member
I was brought up Jewish, but abandoned the religion in my teens. I was looking for scientific proofs and challenged G-d to prove Himself. As I wasn't struck by lightning, I disregarded the whole concept of a higher being. Fast forward to my mid 30s. I was having significant changes to my life and livelihood which caused me to look for reasons and meaning. I searched and eventually concluded that G-d must exist. Since I have become a believer, my life has become much better. I try harder to follow G-d's teachings and my life is richer as a result.
I never attempted to prove that everyone else that has different beliefs is wrong. It has only been about finding a set of beliefs that works for me, in my unique facts and circumstances.
As I look back at my life, my beliefs now wouldn't have made any sense to myself when I was 21 either. I have attempted to relay my search for knowledge and meaning to others, but it never works. It worked just for me in my particular circumstances and experiences. Since everyone has their own unique circumstances and experiences, everyone's search will be different. And if your search yielded no belief in a higher power and it works for you, then you have a satisfactory conclusion for you.
Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
I've seen little evidence that many people have examined there own beliefs enough, or, to be honest, even the concept of belief itself, for their purported beliefs to be anything more than an affectation of personality and/or a device which facilitates social cohesion and acceptance.
morphesium
Active Member
All human beings have some sense of inquisitiveness. All human have some moral and all human being have some rational thinking capacity. These (skills) are all inborn to us at varying levels though; and being a skill, we can cultivate it or suppress it.
Religion on the other hand is an ideology, a faith system that lacks proof. All religion has merits, demerits and some scientific and logical absurdities. It pretends it has high morale and it is god sent. Religion always sells better if people are suffering, uneducated and are enduring hardships because free mind and reasoning can be suppressed easily under such conditions. It only needs to sentences like "life is a test" " you will be rewarded in your afterlife"; Simply give them some false hopes to these people – ( hope is something that pacifies a lot) and it makes them ready to take on further sufferings- which only make their belief system even more deep rooted. A century or two of unchecked religious growth – will take them to darkages.
There are many socio-psycho reasons that make a particular religion adhere to the believers mind.
Before coming to that, let me talk about something about the formation of religion.
In the past, as humanity progressed into tribal societies and beyond, power always had to be vested with a few for proper administration. And it was easy for them to realize that they could guarantee their strong hold the most if they could take advantage of the fact that
so as different tribes formed, so were different stories and different gods. As societies merged or progressed or destroyed through war etc, so was religion.
In these societies, there were always evil practices; and there are always good and exceptional people who keep much advanced thoughts and they stand against the evils in the society. They take people or society from dark ages and enlighten them. Unfortunately just like ordinary people these great ones also die.(Religion has always been a good business - then and now). Some people seeing a business opportunity (and for power), sanctifies this person. So laws are made and are kept as such. Not (never) to be changed at all. Then existing scientific proofs are added to give it more credibility. Some magical/Godly stories are amended to it. Rituals and practices make it imprinted on those who practice it. This is how a typical non-tribal religion is formed - and 1,2, and 3 are still valid here.
- The fear of the unknown is always much greater than fear of the known.
- There is always the uncertainty of the future.
- People had to suffer extreme hard ships for their survival and this demanded something strong to pacify them.
so as different tribes formed, so were different stories and different gods. As societies merged or progressed or destroyed through war etc, so was religion.
In these societies, there were always evil practices; and there are always good and exceptional people who keep much advanced thoughts and they stand against the evils in the society. They take people or society from dark ages and enlighten them. Unfortunately just like ordinary people these great ones also die.(Religion has always been a good business - then and now). Some people seeing a business opportunity (and for power), sanctifies this person. So laws are made and are kept as such. Not (never) to be changed at all. Then existing scientific proofs are added to give it more credibility. Some magical/Godly stories are amended to it. Rituals and practices make it imprinted on those who practice it. This is how a typical non-tribal religion is formed - and 1,2, and 3 are still valid here.
The true stories that led to the formation of a religion is soon forgotten. The mythical part remains -God, Heaven, Hell, rituals, etc.
As was told, there are many socio-psychological reasons that compel the believer to adhere to his religious beliefs.
Social reasons;
Religion has grown too much that it is now an integral part of our social setup. In marriages, in birth, in death, etc, religious rituals interferes. Often the ties are so strong that the penalty one has to pay if one break away from this is very high.
Psychological reasons; (here I am copying the text from one of my previous posts.)
As a kid grows up (in the early ages), the whole world is their parents. At a young tender age, our reasoning capacity can be easily masked by the belief that our elders, who have seen the world much more than us can't be wrong. So they accept it without questioning. Regular and peiodical thinking and practices make such concepts hardwired in the brain and once it is hardwired (kind of habitulazing), it is very difficult to break such thoughts and practices. Over time the kids become adults and the cycle continues.
Imagine someone who is not used to the habit of drinking tea or reading newspaper early in the morning. he does the same the next day, the 3rd day.... he can stop that at any moment. But if he happened to keep on doing it that for 21 days regularly, the situation is very different. The routine is habitulaized. His mind will ask for tea, the morning news paper. Without that he will feel like something is missing, that his morning is not complete. The new routine has now turned to a habit. This is what counseling centers make use of if one wants to change habits .The reason probably is this- constant or regular signaling through a particular brain connection (channel or path) - makes it hard wired in the brain. Those channels that aren't used regularly are withered off.
Moreover, just like taste (we all have some kind of acquired taste- either it be for wines or cheese etc, all cultures has some sort of this. People who have acquired taste enjoys the food much more that those who haven't tasted it before), our religious sense can be acquired. "Acquired sense of religion" and hard wiring are two of the many Psychological reasons that makes religion keep on lingering.
Additionaly, "fear of the unknown" may play here. So a person being safeguarded by his god(s) , can ridicule various aspects of other religion, with out getting his God(s) angry
.This is what makes people ----------
If one priests in A (religion) commits an immoral activity - usually what the concerned religious authority would do is this:- that priest is de-promoted (which is usually only on paper) and transferred to a different area. Those people who are followers of A says -it is just an isolated case, not all priest are like that. He is a shame to priesthood. How can a priest do such a thing, he is not fit for his post. And they are happy with the religious authorities decisions. Whereas those people in other religion says - all priests of A are like that; it is not an isolated case; that is what they are known for; Off the many, one gets caught. that is why he is given just a transfer for this outrageous crime as a priest and he can repeat the same process there.
Similar is the case with each and every other religion.
Similar is the case with each and every other religion.
If one keep on finding fault with his/her religion (or think about the various faults in his religion) for 21 days at a stretch - then he/she could be freed from their religion. An atheist perhaps.
Now, coming back to your question-Do people really believe in their religion? when compared to the past, people have much more freedom now. They have far lesser hardships, much more educated with much more scientific attitude; and have much more free-thought. Moreover, people have began questioning their beliefs. These only show one thing - the percentage of people who are really believing in their religion is declining. Even the majority of those who still keeps it - keep their beliefs very moderated.
How do you think people will react if the church yells out -> He says the Sun is at the center of the solar system, and thus he is talking against the bible (which says earth is at the center)! Burn him at stake.
Of course, there are people like the ISIS and similar who are still in the darkages. For them it will take much more time; or will they? They are brainwashed with much more severity, it will be very hard for them to wake up and see the truth.
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psychoslice
Veteran Member
I think most people become religious through culture or family, and I don't think most know much about their beliefs, but still they will defend it, not knowing what they are defending.
I think everyone would have a different reason for believing in their said faith. We do have evidence or we wouldn't believe in it. It's not anything that would convince anyone else, not would we expect it to since it's personal, and please don't ask me to share mine: I am a personal person. You can trust me when I say that I don't follow my faith just because it "feels good".
To me religion is a very personal thing. It's different for everyone. I too often think to myself, do I believe this because I legitimately believe it or is it just learned behaviour?
I mean the rituals I can definitely say are learned and only based on culture and my upbringing. But I feel like on the one hand I feel a sense of euphoria when I invoke the God/s of my religion. Which for me indicates a vindication of my belief. On the other is my feeling just expected of me on the part of my family?
I tend to view things from religion as metaphorical and philosophical. Is this just an out so I don't have to reject Science, a discipline/s I hold in high intellectual regard? I honestly do not know and must keep learning. Maybe I'll truly never know the answers to my concerns. Maybe I'll have to employ some doublethink. I guess ask me again in 20 or so years?
I mean the rituals I can definitely say are learned and only based on culture and my upbringing. But I feel like on the one hand I feel a sense of euphoria when I invoke the God/s of my religion. Which for me indicates a vindication of my belief. On the other is my feeling just expected of me on the part of my family?
I tend to view things from religion as metaphorical and philosophical. Is this just an out so I don't have to reject Science, a discipline/s I hold in high intellectual regard? I honestly do not know and must keep learning. Maybe I'll truly never know the answers to my concerns. Maybe I'll have to employ some doublethink. I guess ask me again in 20 or so years?
Thana
Lady
I don't know, I can only speak for myself.
And as for me, Hell yes my faith is a lot more than "it makes me feel good"
And no, I don't believe everyone else on earth is wrong. I believe everyone on earth is wrong, including myself.
psychoslice
Veteran Member
Ah, that's nice, yes I do agree that in the end we are all wrong.