Personal experience tells me that there are a lot of reasons to be a part of a religious community and few of them have anything to do with conclusive evidence. I think many of these reasons are very respectable. I would never argue against somebodies cherished beliefs if they are indeed cherished. Religious apologists I think are a different fish, and I think they have missed the point of religion, or are like me and cant believe things unless they are true. Thats a separate matter.
Hitchens, Dawkins, the one guy with the beard, and Sam Harris all seem to think that people are just ignorant. Yes, it must be true for some, but we must be talking about majorities and I think its not the case with a majority of religious people. I know a lot of religious people, many of them seem to actually be less religious about religoin than I am, and I'm an atheist. By this I mean that I think and talk more about the beliefs and history of their religion than many of them. I care a lot more about the doctrine than many of them. In talking to many about the things I find difficult to believe, I am usually met with this sort of "you're thinking a little too hard about this" attitude. So yes, technically this is ignorance, but I would argue that it is an adaptive willful ignorance and as such cannot be approached in the same way that other forms of ignorance are approached.
Is it very hard for us to imagine why somebody would be a part of a religion and not know much about the religion? Like do Mormons really know what the church was like during the civil rights movement? No, most kids my age dont, and most active mormon kids my age dont care either. Now is there anybody out there who believes in a religion but doesnt want to? I know there are plenty that do want to but cant. So why are people religious? Maybe the answer is the same as to this question: why are people fiercely loyal to groups like the democrats, republicans, Nazis, libertarians, etc.? I've talked to plenty of democrats, republicans, libertarians, christians, and greenpeace...ers. Most have put very little critical thinking into their beliefs. It seems like people invest very little energy into "knowing" a "truth" until after they already believe it. People are backwards. Believe first, ask questions later. Do any of you know somebody who believes strongly in something, but knows little about it? I'm sure you think everybody who disagrees with you is like that.
I think we are religious because we are social. Knowing the truth is useful, but SOMETIMES believing a lie is even more useful. In a political world, the truth matters less the more far removed the proposition becomes. How much further removed can you get than unpredictable God? So if believing certain things to be true gives you access to a community, then by all means do it, we need each other. We need to be able to trust eachother, what better way to get people to trust you then to believe the same "stupid" thing they do.
I'm not talking about where religion came from, its irrelevant whether it came from evolution or some white guy in a cultish robe. I'm talking about why people are religious. I've noticed that people are very protective of their beliefs. Protective to the point where they are able to control their critical thinking so as not to wander down the wrong avenues of thought. You cant deny this, everybody doubts yet everybody believes. This of course means that on some level religious people know there is a problem with the veracity of their beliefs. I think this is demonstrated by their unwillingness to have critical arguments about their beliefs. Its even more obvious when its institutionalized. "Bear your testimony and walk away" was the oft stated defense when confronted by critics. We were pretty much counseled to subject our critics to a testimony meeting. A meeting where children who have just learned to talk are encouraged, along with adults, to get up and say they know something is true. Does anybody have a problem with parents whispering in the childs ear to say that they, a four year old, know that mormonism is true? I think I can safely say we all have a very quick and in some cases quickly suppressed repulsion to such a thing. I dont need to say why. The evolution of our belief may just start with the community elders whispering in our young ears. In the end we are just believing and some of us are making up reasons to believe and most are just believing and reaping the benefits...or whirlwind.
Am I making a false generalization from my limited religious experience? I dont think so, but maybe. Compare it to your own experience.
So anyway, thats what I think. What do you think? Please give thoughtful responses. And please no passive aggressive statements trying to be too cool for the conversation. That's just annoying and ironic.
