Topic: Religion, Why is it still there? - page 2. (Read 462 times)

I dont beleave in Santa, that makes me a santa beleaver?
There is no need for a god or a supernatrual being to explain the universe.
Is a non stamp collector a collector?

Exactly! Even logical people that don't believe in religion, simply have a religion of non-religion.

It's hard to know what's going on in each individual's minds but it seems that we are hard-wired to believe in something anyway. Without religion we'd just be basing our lives on something else. Religion is mostly drawing flak because of violence and abuse committed on its name, or when the clerics use their influence to lobby. Otherwise it seems many people are fine with it.

Religion is here because ALL people are religious beings. They are religious because they don't know the future, and are using their personal religion to attempt to find it. Without religion, people wouldn't have hope or reason to go on. There would be a lot more suicides.

Consider the definition of "religion" at https://www.dictionary.com/browse/religion. Notice number 1 and number 6 of the definition:
Number 1 doesn't require a supreme being. Number 6 applies to everyone.

Basically, this is what makes atheism a religion right alongside the formal religions. The stronger the atheist, the stronger the atheism religion is in him.

Exactly! I feel like believing that "something or someone" created the universe etc. is much easier than thinking it came out of "nothing". That's the most obvious reason to me at least.
I don't wanna make fun of Religion, it has its purpose, but I think that Religion is just completely obsolete in the 21st century, or slowly becomes at least.

There are so many bad things happening that are driven by Religion.
 

God as per I see is just some belif which runs most of the people's life and makes them afriad to do worng doings overall. Its just some imaginary entity which we think runs the system in an orgainzed way nothing else.

I personally don't believe in something like a single superpower who created us but rather I would be willing to put my faith in the scientific theory of formation of universe and theory of evolution of mankind. This is the most realted we can go to the document reality about the formation of life.

One can debate on the topic for a hell lot of time and end up with no conclusion about if there is a God or Not, but for me assuming its NOT is more convensing and logical.

Religion exists for reasons on individual and community level.

Reasons on individual level:
-a need to simplify complexity of life
-a need to find purpose of one's existance
-a need to rationalise bad things happening to a person

Reasons on communiy level:
-a way to control believers: socially, morally, economically, politically
-that's it really

I have observed this in believers and their leaders over and over again.

I think you're gonna catch some flak for your characterization of religions (for example, Buddhists don't want you to stone anyone to death).

However, what you're missing is that God is a prankster with an inferiority complex. He loves confusing the shit out of people, but then also gets pissed if you decide to have an affair with science or atheism.

No but really, I don't believe in a classical sense-type God, but I do wonder how everything was created. To me it makes more sense that there be nothing at all.

It is a psychological trick that helped us survive to this day.  It was always better to think that that sound in the tall grass next to you was a tiger, not the wind.  Even if it was the wind, it was better to assume it was a tiger and be afraid.

Religious dogma is demonstrably an utter nonsense.

I was at my son's Catholic high-school graduation ceremony yesterday, and I observed all the people during the opening and closing 'prayers'.
Most pretended they were contemplating by bowing their heads, although some I presume were actually meditating, or at least they thought they were doing it.  Some were not even paying attention, fixing their wardrobe, checking their phones, smiling, looking around until our eyes locked,  I naturally said hi to them.  They smirked back.  It was a funny experience.  Amateurish theatrical performance at best.  Forced, peer pressured, comical act in reality. After all that was done, we all went back to our lives in the 21st century.

My guess is that our brains have this amazing capability to isolate realities.  Maybe that is why it is possible for some people to develop multiple personalities disorders.

When you talk to God, you are 'religious'.
When God talks back to you, you are insane.

I am still surprised, how many people are religious and believe in any sort of a God that created earth and life. I do not want to judge them but I personally can just simply not fathom, how weird such a believe is.

I think by now, 21st century, we should have been over this and yet, entire nations worship a God that is according to them pulling the strings and telling them how to live. More people die each year due to religious punishment or extremism than from various other things we create laws against!

Now I am a huge Fan of Carl Sagan, probably the "best" public person to ever live in my view. He of course, is not an atheist (public people barely are. its bad for business) but he claims that if god are the alws of physics and the universe, he believes in god. Ok, I sign that too.

Assuming God exists as by the major religions: A god that makes you

- pray 5 times a day (muslim)?
- Worship him (all)?
- Stone woman that commit adultery to death (all)?
- forbids you to eat certain things based on no scientific reason (all)?
- Says the world is flat (Christianity)?
- Gives you foreskin just to then remove it again (muslim, jews)
- Tells you not to drink alcohol but heroin is ok (muslim)
- Threatens you to burn in Hell (Christianity)

(sorry if I wrote something wrong but its been a while since bible lessons!)

Is not a nice God.

How can one still functioning in this modern world while he still believes that this all is true and this GOD is in charge?

This thread is not to create any hatered or so against religious people. Live and let live.

I just wonder how you watch a space documentary and then go to church? How does ones brain handle this contradiction?