Freethought & Rationalism Archive

god-free · 11-27-2002, 05:02 PM

Does anyone have any "theories" about this? Are certain personality types more religious than others? In general, are overly religious people "sick"?

god-free

11-27-2002, 05:14 PM

How about Fear? A certain person who has more fear than others, attend to believe in something which bypass his fear.

Kosh · 11-27-2002, 05:39 PM

How about that it tends to be people who have to feel they're right about something. Religion forces one to take a very strong stance that you have made the right choice, that you are doing things "right", while everyone else is doing it wrong.

in Xianity, this seems to be coupled with a strong desire to tell others what to do. I see some scary parrallels with Nazisim....

Ojuice5001 · 11-27-2002, 05:42 PM

I think social isolation is a factor; after all, I'm very socially isolated and very religious. The way I see it, a solitary life leaves a vacuum that can be filled by the gods (among other things).

11-27-2002, 07:51 PM

Check this out: <a href="http://www.freud.org.uk/religion.html" target="_blank">Freud and religion</a>

Buffman · 11-27-2002, 09:51 PM

You might find the info at these two URLs informative.

<a href="http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/genememe.htm" target="_blank">http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/genememe.htm</a>

<a href="http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/afterword.htm" target="_blank">http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/afterword.htm</a>

Amie · 11-27-2002, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by god-free:
<strong>Does anyone have any "theories" about this? Are certain personality types more religious than others? In general, are overly religious people "sick"?</strong>

Its an interesting question that you have asked god-free. A friend of mine finished his dissertation and he wrote about "The psychological reasons people choose the religions that they choose". I disagreed with him to an extent since I believe many people are products of their environments. For instance I am catholic, however had I been born in Sumatra, Indonesia I highly doubt I would have been a catholic. I'd probably be worshiping an elephant like many of them do...

I don't think it has anything to do with needing to be right and thinking others are wrong. It is a personal choice as we grow up, regardless of any theistic influences we were given as a child. I have my belief because it feels right for me. However my right can very well be someone elses wrong and your right can very well be my wrong. I choose to believe NOT because I want to tell others what to do, but because for me it feels natural to believe in God...

I admit some things don't always "add up" but I still believe...
I don't think it has anything to do with personality and I certainly don't think people who are overly religious are "sick". I think being overly anything is not so healthy but that does not make them sick...just my opinion...
Have a good one~
Amie

monkey mind · 11-28-2002, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Seraphim:
<strong>How about Fear? A certain person who has more fear than others, attend to believe in something which bypass his fear.</strong>

I think fear is definately how religions started. People were afraid of the things that were happening (natural disasters, etc). They needed an immediate explanation of these things so they could go on.

These days, we understand things a lot better, and don't fear things quite so much, but there still is a lot of things we sometimes need an immediate answer for. Like why does life suck so bad sometimes?

Some people seem to like religions that pump up their fear.

Living Dead Chipmunk · 11-28-2002, 01:26 PM

Just ask emphyrio. He's obviously a professional, and he's unilaterally diagnosed everyone who has religious leanings as schizotypal. </sarcasm>

Shake · 11-29-2002, 12:06 PM

Let me first state that I'm no psychologist by any means, just an observer of people and their behaviors. Also I'm a student of history.

It would make some sense that those with a greater need to be accepted would lean towards some sort of religion. When I started drifting away from religion, it was general in nature at first. I realized that religion was a highly personal thing, and I had a hard time with the concept of "organized religion," which seemed oxymoronic to me. I doubt that in the unlikely event that I give up my atheism, I would return to a church. In that case, I would probably be more of a Deist, but without any specific affiliation. But I digress ...

Religion and spirituality are not the same, but are related. You don't need religion to be spiritual, but I think to be religious, you must be spiritual. At any rate, religious beliefs are personal, and therefore usually has a strong emotional component to it. I've read arguments that historically even political figures have played on religious fears in order to achieve certain ends. Religious leaders obviously have no qualms about using fear to motivate people (positively or negatively), which is fine in certain morality issues, i.e. not killing, etc., but not for political gains.

I'm sure there are some correlations between certain personality types and religious belief. God-free asked, "are overly religious people "sick"?" Well, I do remember seeing the results of a study recently (I think it even made the papers) that extremely religious people were more apt to have OCD than others ... which does make some sense if you think about your friendly neighborhood fundies.

Just my $0.03 (adjusted for inflation)

"I must not fear
Fear is the mind-killer!"

11-27-2002, 05:02 PM	#1
god-free Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Earth Posts: 20	The Psychology of Religion Does anyone have any "theories" about this? Are certain personality types more religious than others? In general, are overly religious people "sick"? god-free

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11-27-2002, 05:14 PM	#2
Seraphim Guest Posts: n/a	How about Fear? A certain person who has more fear than others, attend to believe in something which bypass his fear.

11-27-2002, 05:39 PM	#3
Kosh Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Orions Belt Posts: 3,911	How about that it tends to be people who have to feel they're right about something. Religion forces one to take a very strong stance that you have made the right choice, that you are doing things "right", while everyone else is doing it wrong. in Xianity, this seems to be coupled with a strong desire to tell others what to do. I see some scary parrallels with Nazisim....

11-27-2002, 05:42 PM	#4
Ojuice5001 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: A city in Florida that I love Posts: 3,416	I think social isolation is a factor; after all, I'm very socially isolated and very religious. The way I see it, a solitary life leaves a vacuum that can be filled by the gods (among other things).

11-27-2002, 07:51 PM	#5
atheist_in_foxhole Guest Posts: n/a	Check this out: <a href="http://www.freud.org.uk/religion.html" target="_blank">Freud and religion</a>

11-27-2002, 09:51 PM	#6
Buffman Beloved Deceased Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: central Florida Posts: 3,546	You might find the info at these two URLs informative. <a href="http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/genememe.htm" target="_blank">http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/genememe.htm</a> <a href="http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/afterword.htm" target="_blank">http://www.comfsm.fm/socscie/afterword.htm</a>

11-28-2002, 01:26 PM	#9
Living Dead Chipmunk Regular Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: South Carolina Posts: 312	Just ask emphyrio. He's obviously a professional, and he's unilaterally diagnosed everyone who has religious leanings as schizotypal. </sarcasm>

11-29-2002, 12:06 PM	#10
Shake Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Folding@Home in upstate NY Posts: 14,394	Let me first state that I'm no psychologist by any means, just an observer of people and their behaviors. Also I'm a student of history. It would make some sense that those with a greater need to be accepted would lean towards some sort of religion. When I started drifting away from religion, it was general in nature at first. I realized that religion was a highly personal thing, and I had a hard time with the concept of "organized religion," which seemed oxymoronic to me. I doubt that in the unlikely event that I give up my atheism, I would return to a church. In that case, I would probably be more of a Deist, but without any specific affiliation. But I digress ... Religion and spirituality are not the same, but are related. You don't need religion to be spiritual, but I think to be religious, you must be spiritual. At any rate, religious beliefs are personal, and therefore usually has a strong emotional component to it. I've read arguments that historically even political figures have played on religious fears in order to achieve certain ends. Religious leaders obviously have no qualms about using fear to motivate people (positively or negatively), which is fine in certain morality issues, i.e. not killing, etc., but not for political gains. I'm sure there are some correlations between certain personality types and religious belief. God-free asked, "are overly religious people "sick"?" Well, I do remember seeing the results of a study recently (I think it even made the papers) that extremely religious people were more apt to have OCD than others ... which does make some sense if you think about your friendly neighborhood fundies. Just my $0.03 (adjusted for inflation) "I must not fear Fear is the mind-killer!"

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