Amswer 138

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Amswer 138

Question138

Why do you think religion seems to be an intellectual blind spot for otherwise clear-thinking people?

1. Early indoctrination. 2. Herd mentality. If you're expected to go to church,and everyone else goes, and you are told that you should feel guilty for not going, then you go. 3. Fear of death and the unknown. (Scott Davidson #1045)

To a life-long theist, one who has been indoctrinated as a child, religion seems "normal". The converse means that lack of religion is "abnormal". (Liz Huth #658)

The destruction/modification of critical thinking skills when they were just forming in the child via the automatic "does not apply exemption" which their particular superstition is tagged with. The programming is also reinforced on at least a weekly basis by the deliberate heightening of emotions, of which fear is the one with the most effect.

A secondary barrier is the construction/grouping of the social structure which limits the contact with those outside and creates a "mini-tribal" effect of "us vs. them". As long as you toe the party line you can stay in the group, otherwise you are rejected, shunned, ostricized. (Stoney #9)

I add another vote for the emotional aspect. People seem to "feel" that there "must" be a God. And they never question the mechanism of this mysterious sense. Many people---even clear-thinking people it would seem---place emotions over intellect.

There is one reason (that someone has already mentioned) that I think is often underestimated. That is loneliness. People are very afraid of being alone. It drives many to seek therapy.

Then there is also good 'ol Pascal's Wager, which seems to consume even clear-thinking people. (Jim Hewes)

Well, one reason could be that they simply don't care about the truth of any religion, they go to some nearby church because0 it's traditional, and they pay no attention to death. They accept what the church says because it is usually not outrageous and they participate in more of a social sense than a religious sense. I think that's the case for many theists.

The rabidly religious probably need religion for their lives to have meaning and will simply not give it up. Would you waver in your belief that reality corresponds to your senses? Probably not, because then how do you lead your life?

I think that to deconvert a religious person, there must already be some seed of discontent to nourish. It might be very small, like the time when god didn't bring the puppy back to life, but it has to be the starting point for the theist. (Chaos Theory #1354)

I haven't got much new to add, I'm afraid, it's all been said..... Amongst other functions, many of which have become obsolete, religion performs a psychological function within the minds of it's adherents. It gives it's followers a sense of purpose in their lifes and it reassures them that death is not the end ( when the cities are on fire with the burning flesh of men..... )

If and when these otherwise intelligent people think about their god, specifically it's existence, they don't think in terms of rationality and logic, but in terms of feelings and needs.

Other than that, I guess it's hard to start doubting something you have been told to be true and believed in all your life, once you're past a certain age, anyway. (DJ Nozem #1465)

Wishful thinking probably plays a rather large part. Some people, have come to realize this and will admit it, for example. Also, many people truly believe that their beliefs are "justified." Many of these justifications come from flawed arguments or premises. Whereas in other areas they are either required to, or forced to, check and re-check their ideas, in the field of religion this is often not the case. For one, living in a predominantly religious society one is not often questioned about one's beliefs; and even if living in a predominantly religious society distinct from your own beliefs, it is all too easy to dismiss any questioning as religious intolerance (which, to be fair, it often is).

Even from a scientific or logical point of view, we form hypothesis and then test them. If the hypothesis cannot be tested or is never tested, there is no way to tell if it is wrong. At least some of it probably plays part in the phenomenon under discussion. Again, I suspect that there is also a good dose of not wanting to test it too thorougly (wishful thinking again), lest it come out wanting. (Arturo Magidin #257

I think there are several factors to consider in answering this question. The first and most obvious is that most people have been indoctrinated with religion since infancy and just automatically assume that it is correct and they basically don't think about it much. People really aren't taught to think and question, they aren't taught to discriminate between what's real and what they believe, and they just go along because it's easy and they don't have to do much one way or the other. There really isn't much emphasis on rational thinking in our society. And the little bit that is required (a few math & science classes) gets compartmentalized to the point where it doesn't get applied to the real world. I don't see effective and rational thinking as being in the best interests of politicians, bureaucrats, big business or the churches. They don't want a lot of people starting to think and question things, trying to change things. So, in spite of some rhetoric for mass consumption, they really don't support teaching people to think. They want masses to follow along, to fit into an acceptable place in society, to consume their products, to buy into their propaganda (spin, advertising, myths...) and accept the "natural" order (i.e. status quo).

Many of the clear-thinking ones don't take their religion too seriously, they have fairly liberal approaches to their religion and don't get hung up on the dogma. Most of these are decent enough and aren't the ones trying to shove it down someone else's throat. In many cases, the clear-thinking ones tend to be good at compartmentalizing their thinking to the point that they have religious beliefs and they have the rest of their beliefs and these two sets of beliefs have different levels of credibility and different needs to apply rigorous evaluation.

I have yet to meet any of what we would call "fundys" who fit into the category of clear- thinking. They may think they understand reasoning and logic, but it has been so perverted by their beliefs that it becomes useless. They have become so controlled by the symbols of their life & religion that they can't think on their own. At times, they may be clever and offer some seemingly intelligent statements, but there tends to be very little effective thinking. (Woden #1796)

Several reasons depending on the person, but it's most definately an emotional phenomenon.

It could be ego - the idea of making yourself important enough to be worthy of contact by a supreme being, fear of death in the sense of not being able to accept the fact that your consciousness is just an artifact of your brain and when your brain goes you go too, forever.

Obviously, exposure as a child will have an effect in some people but it's hard to tell which way it will swing. Some people reject the idea of a god because they were forced into it as a child and some people stick with it for the same reason.

Some people are just desperate. They need to feel like they are not alone and that they have something they can rely on to get them through their life. My girlfriend has admitted that to me. She has told me that she doesn't understand how I can cope and that she is 'desperate' for god. She literally used the word 'desperate' and uses god as an emotional crutch - I'm trying to wean her off it.

Once someone starts believing, their human desire not to be wrong will take over. Noone likes admitting that they are wrong - we all know that many plane crashes are caused because the pilots don't want to admit they have made a mistake by taking evasive action and end up smashing into the side of a mountain. I guess the same effect occurs with believers - they don't want to admit they are wrong (it's a human trait) so they go on believing and seek more and more reasons to carry on believing, no matter how absurd they are. They'll also reinforce their belief (subconsiously) by selectively remembering coincidences that seem to support their belief and ignore those that don't. They'll also try and interperet coincidences in a way so as to support their belief. (Wayne Bagguley #1772)

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