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10 Reasons Why People Are Religious

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#1 ·
Why are People Religious?

“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” - Martin Luther King, Jr

For centuries humans have fallen into a repetitive cycle of fallacy. A spiritual rut that has held us back from achieving our full potential. It isn't until now that humans are starting to wake up and shift to higher states of awareness. But as we are beginning to make progress as humans why is it that people still cling on to their 2,000 year old believes. When will people finally give up their materialistic religion and search for something with greater meaning and purpose? I believe that there are 10 main reason why people still hold on to their religious beliefs. Now I know that this doesn't pertain to every religion or every religious person but if you are religious you will most likely find yourself in one of these areas.


1. Childhood Indoctrination

This is the biggest reasons why people are religious. It is very rare for someone to be brought up in a certain religion and get older and not believe it anymore. This can also be one of the hardest reasons to overcome. If you have been told from the day you were born that this was truth and everyone else was wrong then it is extremely hard to even question that it might not be truth and accept that your whole life growing up you have been fed a lie.

Now of course you can't blame your parents or family because they had the best intentions and they thought that they were showing you truth even though they were probably brought up that way too. It's almost like a never ending cycle that gets passed down to each generation until someone has a light bulb flicker in their brain that tells them that something is wrong.

2. Fear

This is another big reason why people are religious and also why they are afraid to question their religion. A lot of people are afraid of death and afraid of what might happen to them after that. They hear about all these crazy religious people telling them that if they don't join and believe what they believe then they will go to hell forever and ever. They start to think that these people just might be right and become fearful that if they die they are going to be punished.

How many people do you think cried out for forgiveness and prayed as they laid on their death bed. How many people do you think would be in church on Sunday if we all knew that the world was going to end next week. Fear is a very strong emotion and if you know how to use it you can get people to do and believe whatever you want and that is exactly what religion has done. If fear was no longer an issue then I think that a lot of people will open their eyes and not be afraid to question what they believe.

3. Times of Desperation and Need

It is much easier to have faith in a religion when you have nothing else. If you are in a time of desperation and need with no hope then you need something to hold on to. If someone is completely satisfied with life then they have no need for a religion because they are content with how they are.

4. Tradition

A lot of people just accept their religion because it is their tradition. Everyone around them follows that religion and no one has done any different for the past 300 years. All the way back to their great great great grandparents their people where following that religion so therefore it feels like they have to follow it too. If you were born in America then you have a great chance that you will be Christian. If your from the middle east then you will most likely be Muslim. If your from Asia then you will be Buddhist. You believe that you know 100% truth but yet the simplest thing like being born with parents that had a different belief or being born in a different area would cause your entire belief system to be different.

5. Searching For Answers

People are tired of the lies and deception and they want answers. There are so many unanswered questions that no one can seem to answer and religion puts a bandage on those questions. The truth is that religion creates much more unanswered questions than the ones you had before they are just able to hide them a lot better. If you are looking for answers to life's greatest questions then religion is the worst thing that you can turn to. You must look much deeper than religion and search from within yourself.

6. Guilty Conscious

Some people have made some bad choices in their lifetime and they begin to get a guilty conscious. They can't forgive themselves and so they turn to religion hoping that they will find a God that will forgive them so that they can feel better about themselves. They are also afraid of their karma coming back to haunt them thinking that when they die they will have to face the punishments for what they did in this lifetime.

7. Socializing

For a lot of people the only time that they get to socialize with anyone other than coworkers is when they go to church. They might not even like church that much but they will go just so that they can socialize with people and get out of the house. People also like to feel that they are a part of something and that they belong somewhere.

8. Comfort and Assurance

People like the comfort and assurance that religion creates for them. It makes them feel safe and that every thing is going to be alright. They are afraid to step out of their comfort zone and they feel that if they don't have a religion then their life will be chaotic.

9. Lack of Responsibility

A lot of religious people do not take responsibility for their actions, choices and the world that they create around them. They need something to blame and they need something to send their problems to. I have seen this so many times and it truly saddens me that religion has brought them down so low that they just give up and hope that God will fix it all. How many people have heard someone that is religious say that they can't do something on their own so they leave it in God's hands. "I can't quit smoking on my own, I can't quit drinking on my own, I can't live a happy life on my own, I can't find a good job on my own or live a satisfied fulfilling life on my own so I just put my faith in God knowing that he will do all these things for me." If you want something in your life then YOU need to take action and pursue it. Don't say you can't do something on your own just because you are lazy and lack any willpower.

10. Spiritual Fulfillment

There is a spiritual void in this world and people can feel it. They want a life with more meaning and more purpose. I think that this is one of the biggest reasons why people turn to a religion hoping that they can satisfy that spiritual void. You go to church and you see all of these people excited for God and you think to yourself, "this must be it, this is what I have been searching for. Just look how happy all these people are." So you join the church and you get excited and on fire for God and your so happy and nothing can ever take you down. But as time goes on you start to realize that the spiritual void is still there and you start feeling the same as you did before if not worse.
 
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#3 ·
i don't think people who look to religion are foolish, i just think they like the idea of a greater being who cares for them. i also don't think religions are part of the 'evil' of the world, religion can be evil when it becomes extremism, though. as long as the balance of religion and science is equal, i see nothing wrong with religion. without some sort of faith, science loses some of its beauty and mystery, and becomes simply facts.

"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."
-albert einstein
 
#4 ·
i don't think people who look to religion are foolish, i just think they like the idea of a greater being who cares for them. i also don't think religions are part of the 'evil' of the world, religion can be evil when it becomes extremism, though. as long as the balance of religion and science is equal, i see nothing wrong with religion. without some sort of faith, science loses some of its beauty and mystery, and becomes simply facts.

"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind."
-albert einstein

Im trying to separate religion from god, they are two different things to me...
 
#7 ·
One of the reasons why people are in religion is they believe which concentrates on two fundamental problems of human endeavor: the origins of morality and the science and foundations of ethics. In answer to the theist's belief that without religion, one cannot have morality. Strong scientific case that morality exists outside the human mind as a human universal trait.
 
#8 ·
People also get pressured into it. If you lived in a neighborhood where not attending religious ceremonies made you more susceptible to be accused of heresy or witchcraft of some kind for which you would then be likely to get ostracized or even just killed, you would have a lot of incentive to conform.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I have concluded that religion was created as a way of explaining natural phenomena, maintaining order, and coping with the absurdity of life. However, science, government, and philosophy are newer supplements for those needs, usually found in more stable societies.
 
#13 ·
Whether you are arguing for or against religion, I see it like this; I'm right, you're wrong, agree with me or you're a fool. Most people who hate religion tend to be just as preachy as those who really love it. Why aren't people allowed to believe what they like? Religion causes no problem, unless, like scientiststudies said taken to extremes. If you want to be different from a religious person treat your thoughts as theories and not facts, if they aren't right just because they think they are, why are you?
 
#63 ·
Whether you are arguing for or against religion, I see it like this; I'm right, you're wrong, agree with me or you're a fool. Most people who hate religion tend to be just as preachy as those who really love it. Why aren't people allowed to believe what they like? Religion causes no problem, unless, like scientiststudies said taken to extremes. If you want to be different from a religious person treat your thoughts as theories and not facts, if they aren't right just because they think they are, why are you?
Religion causes alot of problems. War being one of them. Without the all unifying truth which is readily available within every human being upon self enquiry, there will always be division between man, different religions and squabbles, confrontations and wars fought for ridiculous beliefs. Secondly, the lack of responsibility that religion brings is another huge problem. People MUST be responsible for their own actions, not putting all their problems on a false god or going to confession and having all your wrongs 'dissolved' by a 'holy man'. People must be more responsible or chaos will reign. Fear, when fearful we are not ourselves, that irrational fear that religion brings is also another huge burden for the mind and weighs people down making them forever living in fear and halting them from a free life in happiness. Religion is really really unhealthy, and like the OP said, it could be good in the short run to boost ones morale, but sooner or later that void will creep back in fast as the novelty of church wears off like an old tennis shoe, and therefore misery, and lack of contentment with the world.


Find the truth through self enquiry, and the question: Who am I? What is this feeling of 'I'? Investigate this and the truth will reveal itself. It is this universal truth that will heal the world from the division of belief and the delusions and fears they bring.

Thanks to Jeff the OP, great stuff.
 
#16 ·
I dislike organized religion.
I think that any religion should be personal, and organized religion just leads to problems.
I'm agnostic, but I think that an organization is unnecessary to have a relationship with anything that may exist, and organized religions are used more (not always) for power and control than actually helping people.
 
#17 ·
I think I generally agree with the 10 reasons listed, but I don't think I see them as negatively portrayed as they are (well, at least some of them).

I do agree with the points about personal spirituality/finding God not being the same as religion. I also agree that religion is a tool that can and has very often been used for evil.

But I think a big issue here that comes into play is the whole issue of type and temperament. Now, don't get me wrong...I'm not saying certain types are going to be religious and others are not. I'm sure there are people of all 16 types that fall into all of the different religions of the world, and I'm sure there are atheists in all 16 of the types. However, I do think that type plays into it.

I'm not an expert on NT's, but I gather that for NT's, objective logical analysis trumps all. It's the reason for their being. They see it as the best way to improve society and themselves. It's what they live for.

(I also believe that INTP's are one of the most, if not the most, individualistic of all 16 types. From my experience, INTP's hate to be boxed in and categorized in any format. That would naturally make the idea of a formal, organized religion absolute torture).

I can't speak for all SJ's, but I will throw out some general points that I believe are true about them for the most part. SJ's tend to live more for routine, structure, and work. It's what drives us, it's what makes us continue to live, it's what makes us happy and satisfied, just as much as logical analysis and investigation does for NT's. It's like you said before about being in a comfort zone.

Now, that doesn't mean that every SJ is going to embrace religion, and like I said, I'm sure there are plenty of atheist SJ's. But I think it's a lot less likely to happen with an SJ than with an NT.

You mentioned the whole idea of not wanting to step out of comfort zones. While I'm not saying that it's a bad thing to do so, I think for almost anybody there are areas in their life they have trouble doing it. For an NT, I would imagine it would be embracing and showing theirs and others emotions, and letting feelings overtake their logic. For an SJ, I think it's more likely that this will be stepping out of their routines and structures that give them peace and harmony. So I think that's something that should be kept in mind when talking about how people do things out of comfort...everyone does it, but what they do it with can be very different.


And I think others have made points in this thread that there can be separation between religion and the objective, political world. Granted, it's not nearly as likely to happen, but it can, and I think I'm an example of that. I'm a Christian and I go to church, but when discussing political issues I step outside of my own beliefs and look at everything objectively, because I know that these issues affect everyone, including those with very different backgrounds and beliefs than my own.


Anyway, I'm not intruding into the INTP forum in search for a debate. (not to stereotype, but I know how NT's love that ;) I just wanted to offer a different perspective on the whole thing.
 
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#19 ·
Something I learned awhile back is that Hell was/is a power tool and most likely a mistranslation in the Bible of "Hades", which meant the Underworld, where ALL souls go. Hell does not exist. (LOL Roman Catholic Church.) Pretty interesting, if you ask me.
 
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#22 ·
Had not the right things happened to me over the years, I would still be a diehard Christian and would never have questioned any of it.

Sometimes people just need a spark.
Ditto. Kinda hard to be a diehard Christian if you're an INTP anyways.

Funny how none of those have to do with actually believing and only thinks in a western context. You fools speak of awareness and progress, but you're none the smarter or more moral.. just more arrogant.
 
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#29 ·
Looking a bit deeper, I find the incongruity between the epistemological avenues of one's lived experience and one's language-based theories of this experience to generate a profound sense of lack and thus angst. Logically, there is no way to account for this, so illogical methods are used to shore this up. We feel compelled to have clearly delineated edges to our being, but at the core of existence, these edges do not exist as neatly as we would like them to. So, through either science or religion, those edges are constructed, either separating ourselves from space and time or tying ourselves into a seemingly universal faith-based meta-narrative. The effect is similar, yet neither allow the deepest stirrings of consciousness to express itself by their suppressive nature. Religion uses collective myth, which prevents the mind from thinking critically about itself or reality, while science advocates materialism which, by its epistemological biases, cannot account for one's lived experience.

As I began, I think we need to look more deeply at just what it means to be human. Neither science, philosophy nor religion can or will adequately address this issue.
 
#30 ·
I agree, and I find the ideas you present in your first paragraph (which to be fair is most of it :tongue:) especially strong.

My personal view, for living my own life, is one of abandoning religion entirely. The question as to the existence of deities is either A) a truth claim about the external world which could eventually be revealed by natural science, or B) a purely linguistic construction; a false problem if one will.

However, I'm certainly not dismissive of religion as unimportant or mindless, for reasons similar to what you presented. It attempts to address some very tricky uncertainties about the experience of our lives.
 
#32 ·
i always have these kinds of big questions

why the hell am i alive at all ? what is the ultimate origin of all the bullshit and stuff thats happening?
what does it really mean to be here ?
what happens after i die ?
there is a giant hole in my heart.. how do i freaking fill it, how would i ever feel complete and be in peace?
why do i feel emotions?
what is the cold, hard principle behind aesthetics?
i feel incomplete, vulnerable, anxious, unstable.. how do i ever become complete, stable?
what happens to me and my loved ones within and after this life?
why does pain feel that painful? why is there pain at all?
there is a side of me that wants the absolute positivity and eternity.. and this life is very contrasting to such desires..in a physical sense why is it so?
why are there sides of me that can't possibly be fully explained or be understood or expressed.. what the hell am i supposed to do with em.. ?

kind of questions..

asking WHY = sort of deadand .. in metaphysical sense..

but i tend not to look at religions (well currently) to answer me those.. because i am slowbrained.. or too moody.. i rely on google more for such questions though.. but i go to church (well used to) sometimes..
and i do like science but it does not answer things on a personal level much.. although in the future.. i hope it can advance enough to take care of much more subtle complex emotive human needs as well..
 
#35 ·
how can a person actually be the judge of that about themselves?

It's entirely possible for someone to think that they sincerely "believe" something when they are actually unconciously motivated by fear or some other dumb reason and they don't even know it.

Do you think all the christians that believe what they do because of fear admit willingly that they believe it out of fear? no of course they don't. Everyone knows that is a crappy reason to believe in god and yet many of them are motivated by that reason alone.

True faith can only be judged by somebody else, someone who can see past all the facades the person might have about their "faith".
 
#42 ·
I would not consider everyone who spends their free time pursuing spirituality dumb. Most people who give 10% of their income to a church or temple actually have more money in the bank than atheists. Like a 10% for them 10% for my saving account type thing. The activity teaches the importance of personal finance beyond a classroom. I have read and believe that most self made millionaires are practicing spiritual people. Also I do not look at the Koran or Bible as light reading for kids or the dumb.


On a completely different note, I hate people shoving any religion down my throat. I feel the same way about atheists always speaking out against religions. If you do not believe in any form of spirituality; that is your thing. I don't care. If you believe in Jesus, same principles apply. Good for you ether way; no relevance to me. I am all for freedom of religion, but your believes will almost always differ from mine and please just accept that as a fact.


The atheist version of the God Warrior would be just as fucking stupid and annoying.
 
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