sandandfoam
Veteran Member
Because it promotes peace, harmony and well-being.
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Why do people still follow religion?
- Thread starter Bigbman
- Start date
Because it promotes peace, harmony and well-being.
Science itself could be said to have answered your question or at least certain scientific researchers:
Belief in God is part of human nature - Oxford study - Telegraph
There are likely strong survival advantages to having religious belief, a sense that even when bad things happen, there is a greater, if hidden purpose to life and one's trials, a hand guiding it.
Every religious experience is a human experience. We are not human beings have a spiritual experience but spiritual beings sharing in a human experience. Every human being has the same body make-up, we breathe the same air, inhabit the same earth and have one, common human nature. Therefore we often ask the same questions about life because ultimately we all, at the basic level, want and need the same things. Everyone who has a sincere search for truth may take a different path and find different answers, however in the end we are fulfilling some basic instinct within us which is naturally oriented towards the transcendent, God or whatever one wishes to call "it".
Religion is born from this primordial "instinct" in human nature IMHO.
There is in my opinion a common basic need in human nature which religion, in whatever form, fulfils and which nothing else can. It is a natural intuition for eternity, for the infinite, for something greater than oneself, one's world and daily concerns. This penetrates life with a profound sense of meaning.
Belief in God is part of human nature - Oxford study - Telegraph
There are likely strong survival advantages to having religious belief, a sense that even when bad things happen, there is a greater, if hidden purpose to life and one's trials, a hand guiding it.
Every religious experience is a human experience. We are not human beings have a spiritual experience but spiritual beings sharing in a human experience. Every human being has the same body make-up, we breathe the same air, inhabit the same earth and have one, common human nature. Therefore we often ask the same questions about life because ultimately we all, at the basic level, want and need the same things. Everyone who has a sincere search for truth may take a different path and find different answers, however in the end we are fulfilling some basic instinct within us which is naturally oriented towards the transcendent, God or whatever one wishes to call "it".
Religion is born from this primordial "instinct" in human nature IMHO.
There is in my opinion a common basic need in human nature which religion, in whatever form, fulfils and which nothing else can. It is a natural intuition for eternity, for the infinite, for something greater than oneself, one's world and daily concerns. This penetrates life with a profound sense of meaning.
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Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
More or less, religion is a coping mechanism. Helps address or provides an outlet for various issues. Helps people deal better with life and living.
Seems to me science has disputed most parts but not every part.
The vaguer a religious concept is, the less falsifiable it is and the less science has said about it. Many of the more specific or dogmatic claims are pretty soundly disputed though.
Well, I don't believe it.
Religion does seem to cause a lot of hate. For example, I'm not aware of any other method to get so many people to casually accept natural or supernatural genocide as morally acceptable as the Bible and Qur'an seem to be able to do for millions of people. (I mean seriously, the fact that an otherwise reasonable person can worship a deity that they believe will torture or otherwise allow eternal suffering to other people baffles me.) But many religions also cause some people to form stronger communities, or to love, or to try to adhere to a standard of behavior, etc.
I do believe religion is here to stay. Humans as a species are acutely aware of their eventual death, which does not seem to be the case for most other animals and is kind of a unique problem for nature to solve. That knowledge can potentially result in a form of nihilism, especially if a person's present life isn't good. Just about every major extant religion offers some form of afterlife to its believers, which is one of the most common elements I've observed in religion in my time studying it.
averageJOE
zombie
I think the author of the OP is gone.
Why do people still follow religion?
Community? Personal guidance? Comfort? Meaning? A way to connect with the objective reality through a subjective lens? To p*ss you off?
There are many reasons for people to follow religion. Some reasons more valid than others, but there are many.
Also, science does not "dispute" anything. Science is for the "how" and religion/spirituality is for the "why". I would tell you that claiming that science provides ALL the answers to the world and universe is very dogmatic, but chances are you wouldn't listen.
Ah, one of THOSE again.
These arguments come from people with no understanding of history or human behavior, citing just one aspect of a specific culture as the primary cause of all its problems, as if there was nothing but religion for these people.
And Galileo again? When will people be taught that he wasn't the first person to propose the heliocentric universe; Copernicus was, and he wasn't tried at all. Galileo just had the bad luck of being born in a VERY bad time for Europe, when there was a lot of social upheaval and unrest much of which can be traced to the Protestant Reformation.
I also love the citation of the Crusades again, as if religion were the only cause of them, and not the political climate of Europe vs. the Middle East.
I also find it funny how apparently, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the only religions ever, or that they're somehow microcosms for all religions everywhere. (Hint: no they're not.)
These arguments come from people with no understanding of history or human behavior, citing just one aspect of a specific culture as the primary cause of all its problems, as if there was nothing but religion for these people.
And Galileo again? When will people be taught that he wasn't the first person to propose the heliocentric universe; Copernicus was, and he wasn't tried at all. Galileo just had the bad luck of being born in a VERY bad time for Europe, when there was a lot of social upheaval and unrest much of which can be traced to the Protestant Reformation.
I also love the citation of the Crusades again, as if religion were the only cause of them, and not the political climate of Europe vs. the Middle East.
I also find it funny how apparently, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the only religions ever, or that they're somehow microcosms for all religions everywhere. (Hint: no they're not.)
The Wizard
Active Member
After reading the responses on this thread I was enlightened. It seems, once again, I underestimate the lvl of intelligence or wisdom found in this place and among various posters, naturally, by habbit, from other olaces. So, I am compelled to contribute one more facet regarding why I hold religious beliefs, dispite my counterpart side of agreement to certain atheistic viewpoints or science...
My subconscious has an uncanny tendency to align my worldly experiences towards the beliefs I hold in the mind and heart. It seeks to express them to me as more true, tangibly, or real within time and syncronomy, etc. Apply the subconcsious to fields of belief and how they interplay or affect each other... Study hyptosis or LOA or possative thinking, etc...and in conclusion one may run across yet another logical or rational reason various folks have a religion or carry certain beliefs. We just work from the inside outward to experience and change our experience in this world. Others preferr a more outside inward approach, in which never made me feel completely whole or holistic. Religions and beliefs are still the best way to impress upon such areas or forces of Life unless I have missed a secret...
Of course, I suppose I fall on same page as others that various beliefs are absolutely ridiculous. And, agree to various harmful elements. And, of such things that appear irrational,even objectively, in the field of belief, I toss aside. Yet, such conversation endeavor gets nothing if refferences are not precise and full of blanket statements and broadsweeping generalities, even void of individual and individual circumstance. Various faiths and beliefs have solved more problems and overcome hurdles in which no other way was availible. Could I proof stamp it or quantify it in a glass jar for everyone? Of coarse not! There is no all seeing eye or omnipresent recording log involved or existing yet with which displays the total affect or effects of such patterns on a screen to study. And to bother with such obsessiveness to prove a point would be rather ubsurd...
There are many fabulous contributions for the OP at this point and for others to learn a few things, as of I, myself... And as to paraphrase a great statement by a wise man. "Whether you think you can or can't, either way, you will be right."
My subconscious has an uncanny tendency to align my worldly experiences towards the beliefs I hold in the mind and heart. It seeks to express them to me as more true, tangibly, or real within time and syncronomy, etc. Apply the subconcsious to fields of belief and how they interplay or affect each other... Study hyptosis or LOA or possative thinking, etc...and in conclusion one may run across yet another logical or rational reason various folks have a religion or carry certain beliefs. We just work from the inside outward to experience and change our experience in this world. Others preferr a more outside inward approach, in which never made me feel completely whole or holistic. Religions and beliefs are still the best way to impress upon such areas or forces of Life unless I have missed a secret...
Of course, I suppose I fall on same page as others that various beliefs are absolutely ridiculous. And, agree to various harmful elements. And, of such things that appear irrational,even objectively, in the field of belief, I toss aside. Yet, such conversation endeavor gets nothing if refferences are not precise and full of blanket statements and broadsweeping generalities, even void of individual and individual circumstance. Various faiths and beliefs have solved more problems and overcome hurdles in which no other way was availible. Could I proof stamp it or quantify it in a glass jar for everyone? Of coarse not! There is no all seeing eye or omnipresent recording log involved or existing yet with which displays the total affect or effects of such patterns on a screen to study. And to bother with such obsessiveness to prove a point would be rather ubsurd...
There are many fabulous contributions for the OP at this point and for others to learn a few things, as of I, myself... And as to paraphrase a great statement by a wise man. "Whether you think you can or can't, either way, you will be right."
Muffled
Jesus in me
For one thing I don't beleive what you have stated is true.
Muffled
Jesus in me
I have and it helps me believe in God.
Muffled
Jesus in me
I believe the subconscious is an unreliable source for belief.
I beleive Christianity works from the outside (God) to the inside (The Holy Spirit).
starlite
Texasgirl
Quotes from various individuals support my belief that we were created with a desire to worship God.
Dr. Kevin S. Seybold calls it the seemingly universal tendency of humans to worship something. In recent years a number of scientists have reached the conclusion that humans are, in fact, inherently inclined to look for a deeper meaning in life. Some actually believe that genetic and other physiological evidence points to a natural need for humans to connect with a higher power.
The fact that man, everywhere at all times, from the beginning to the present day, has felt the impulse to call upon something he believed to be higher and more powerful than himself, shows that religion is innate and should be scientifically recognized. . . . We should stand in awe, amazement and reverence to see the universality of mans search for, and belief in, a supreme being.Man Does Not Stand Alone, by A. Cressy Morrison.
Is it not our common experience that when faced with danger or a desperate situation, most peoples first response is to appeal to God or some higher power for help?
(Revelation 4:11) . . .You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.
Dr. Kevin S. Seybold calls it the seemingly universal tendency of humans to worship something. In recent years a number of scientists have reached the conclusion that humans are, in fact, inherently inclined to look for a deeper meaning in life. Some actually believe that genetic and other physiological evidence points to a natural need for humans to connect with a higher power.
The fact that man, everywhere at all times, from the beginning to the present day, has felt the impulse to call upon something he believed to be higher and more powerful than himself, shows that religion is innate and should be scientifically recognized. . . . We should stand in awe, amazement and reverence to see the universality of mans search for, and belief in, a supreme being.Man Does Not Stand Alone, by A. Cressy Morrison.
Is it not our common experience that when faced with danger or a desperate situation, most peoples first response is to appeal to God or some higher power for help?
(Revelation 4:11) . . .You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.
Science hasn't disputed every part of religion.
Religion has done more than cause problems, and blaming religions for the problems it caused... well might as well blame everything because almost everything eventually turns into a burden on our backs that we carry until it quiets down.
He was probably one of those people who somehow believe that all atheists are scientists and all scientist are atheists. I don't know why people believe that, but they do (only a small amount do,so...)
methylatedghosts
Can't brain. Has dumb.
With 8/8 of his total posts being in this thread, and the fact that he's not responded to the thread in a few days suggests to me that the OP has found himself out of his depths here and fled the forums, tail tucked firmly between the legs.
Of course, I hope I'm wrong about that. I'd like to see if perhaps we can get some good discussion out of this one
dyanaprajna2011
Dharmapala
Science's role is to explain the natural world. But this is not the only world that there is. The spiritual realm, science can't really enter into, because it's not it's domain.
And not all religions teach hate. Very few of them actually do. The followers of many, if not most, have skewed their respective religions teachings to foster hate, but this does not mean it's part of the individual religion.
The Wizard
Active Member
Interesting. So, if the holy ghost is to the inside then where would it be inside of oneself? I am assuming you have omitted any part involving a subconscious, per the above statement. What do you mean by inside..
