Jagella

As many of you no doubt are aware, the antiquated notions of gods and miracles have come under the scrutiny of modern science. Now that we know that the earth is 4.6 billion years old and the universe several times older, the age-old myths of Genesis and other creation legends no longer hold much credibility for people educated in modern evolutionary science. Nevertheless, many people still maintain belief in some god or other as well as belief in miracles. Why are these beliefs still with us? I’ve decided to start a discussion regarding the resiliency of religious belief, and in particular I wish to discuss religion as mental illness, deception, biology, and simple ignorance.

Religion as Mental Illness
I spent most of my life a religious believer. I was raised Catholic, and later I left the Catholic Church and spent about 1.5 years as a Pentecostal. During my religious sojourn one thought haunted me: Was it crazy to believe in these things? After all, if a person says he believes his father is some invisible ghost in the sky somewhere, then we might well deem that person as insane. However, when the same claim is made in a religious context, we laud that person as “a man of faith.�? What’s the difference? The only difference I can see is different words used to describe the entity in the sky: It’s father versus “Heavenly Father�? as well as cultural acceptance of religious belief. I submit that religion may well be a mental illness.

(I wish to stress that I mean no disrespect for any person labeled as “mentally ill.�? A person labeled this way is every bit as human as anybody else. Nevertheless, I still see mental disorders as harmful in the same way that physical disorders are harmful.)

Religion as Deception
During my life as a religious believer, I was especially troubled by the deceptive nature of many religious people. I saw them take money from people who could barely afford to donate anything. Much of this money was taken from people who were ill or “disabled�? and who hoped to find some miraculous cure. They were promised some “healing from Jesus.�? Sadly, when these miracles didn’t happen (and as far as I can tell there were no miracles), people were left broke, humiliated, and confused. Some people even died as a result of putting their faith in religion rather than maintaining their medical treatments. “Faith�? started to become a synonym for naiveté or fraud. Moreover, many of us are acquainted with the fraud and intellectual dishonesty of apologists. They will distort science or history to propagate their religion. Religion sure looks like deception to me.

Religion as Biology
I’ve often speculated that religion may have a genetic basis. For some reason humans evolved with a religious disposition. As far back as the era of the Neanderthals, we have evidence for religion in the burial of loved ones. Even chimps, our closest living relatives, have been observed to carry on what appear to be a religious ritual when storms arise. It could be that religious belief and behavior enhanced the odds of that person surviving and reproducing. Religion may have encouraged group cohesiveness with the result that people worked and fought in groups giving them a survival advantage over those who may have acted, and thought, alone. Ergo, I think a gene might be responsible for religious behavior and belief.

Religion as Simple Ignorance
Finally, religion may result from a lack of education. Religion evolved in our ancestors, and these ancestors in many cases had little or no knowledge about the nature of their world. Could they possibly know that lightning was a discharge of electricity? Might they know that an earthquake resulted from tectonic plates slipping against each other? Of course they didn’t have this knowledge, and hence they very often interpreted these natural phenomena as the actions of some angry god. Obviously, it’s a poor explanation, but what else did these primitive people have? Even today, I’ve noticed that the better educated a person is, the less likely he or she is to be religious. Consequently, I suggest that religious belief may be to a large degree a result of ignorance.

I realize that probably none of these explanations for religion can stand alone. The truth as to why people maintain religion may involve a combination of these possible explanations. If anybody here has studied this question, then I’d appreciate an elucidation.

Jagella

Clivedurdle

Dawkins Ancestor's Tale discusses co-evolution, for example how wolves became domesticated to dogs, and comments that humans have also probably become domesticated as well. Religion would then be a very interesting development to ensure humans stay tame, and to allow us to become wolf like and wild in socially controlled ways, like warfare.

Killer Mike

It is fundamentally similar to children who believe in Santa Clause or have a make believe friend. It is a form of dissociation and allows the believer in religion to have a sense of peace and "strength" to face the realities of life. Have you ever noticed how mad and upset a child will become if told Santa does not exist? This is because of cognitive dissonance. Have you ever noticed how an adult will become mad and upset if someone tells them god does not exist? Hint Hint

Jagella

I would refer to the domestication of humans as “civilization.�? We are supposed to be made civil by the societies in which we live so that we may live together in harmony.

So much for civilization! Religion no doubt has played a part in socializing people. I don’t believe that makes religion good, however, because in many societies one had no choice but to accept the moral precepts of the state religion, and these “moral�? precepts could be very bad indeed.

And the “wolves�? could be said to be crusaders and inquisitors.

Jagella

Jagella

I’ve pointed out to Christians that their faith in Jesus is similar to that of a child’s belief in an invisible friend.

Was it not Marx that referred to religion as the “opiate of the masses�??

Yes. I remember feeling very befuddled when told there’s no Santa. Nevertheless, I accepted the unreality of Santa Claus without too much consternation. I suppose that’s why I’m an atheist; I accepted the unreality of God without angrily refusing it.

I agree that the anger an adult theist experiences when told God doesn’t exist is probably the same anger a child feels when told Santa isn’t real. Nevertheless, the theist might argue that their anger is a result of being lied to by the atheist. That is, the atheist is lying or at least wrong by saying God doesn’t exist, and the theist becomes angry over this “pernicious lie.�?

Jagella

Marduk

“That is, the atheist is lying or at least wrong by saying God doesn’t exist, and the theist becomes angry over this “pernicious lie�?

Indeed, especially since the theist knows very well that the atheist is merely stating a personal opinion when saying ‘God does not exist' which is worth, when accompanied with $1, a cup of coffee.

Jagella

Can you explain then why many theists get so angry when the opinion as to God’s nonexistence is expressed by an atheist? Is that anger a result of painful doubt or is it because the theist thinks that the atheist is lying or wrong?

Jagella

Ozymandias

I was unaware of this correlation between intelligence and atheism -- can you point me to wherever you got this information? My personal experience has not led to any decisive conclusion one way or the other -- I know many very intelligent people who are Christian and many who are not.

TheBigKahoona

I submit that religion may well be a mental illness.

I think its kind of foolish to equate religion with mental illness. How many times have you had a totally insane dream? Does that make YOU mentally ill? Of course not. Why? Because most people on earth have dreams. Dreams are so common that they are accepted by everyone (or almost everyone) as completely normal. Like it or not, or believe in it or not, Religious belief is the natural tendency of man.

Then again, I think part of our difference of opinion lies in our definition of "mental illness". In this context do you consider mental illness to be "A belief in something incredibly nonsensical and stupid."

Or

"An abnormality in someones brain"...i.e. Schizofrenia, Manic Deppression. etc.

Killer Mike

If they were so convinced god existed they would not react with so much anger.

But dissociative pathologies allows one to believe something that deep down inside they know is not true. And cognitive dissonance sets in when confronted with something that poses a challenge.