Why do people believe in god?
I had this on my mind so I thought I would record my thoughts. All of the following is what I think are the top reasons why people believe in god (not in order).
Please note that this is what I am currently thinking about and that all of this is my opinion.
- Force: There is a place in the city where I live in and it is a place where homeless people can go to live and have shelter. To live in this place the people require the homeless to convert to Christianity, read the Bible, and go to church. So this place forces people to believe in god just so they can have shelter.
- Fear: When kids grow up in let’s say a Christian family they are taught at a very young age that if they do something bad (even if it’s a accident), doubt the belief of god, or whatever the parent doesn’t want the kid to do, that they will be dammed and burn in a fiery place called Hell, and be tortured and have unmanageable amounts of pain for the rest of eternity (eternity is defined as: “Time without beginning or end; infinite time.”). If I heard this as a child I damn well know that I would be afraid to do something bad or think outside the bubble of religion.
- Guilt: If someone has done something that is extremely bad or unforgivable, that person will have guilt and that guilt will build up until that person cannot handle the pain. At this point the person is vulnerable; he will do anything to relieve the pain. So, that person will turn to religion, when he accepts the religion he will be told that he has been forgiven. Being told that will relax his state of mind, and he will stay with that religion because that person is afraid that the guilt will come back if he leaves.
- Stupidity: This one is really simple. If someone is really stupid he will believe anything he is told. For example, you walk up to someone stupid, tell him that there is a god and it created everything. That person knowing nothing, will undoubtedly believe anything, and thus believe in god.
- Sociality: Many people believe in god just so that they make friends. People know that if they are lonely and want to have friends, they can just believe in god and they are now able to join a countless number churches, groups, and communities. Also something like a bible club…. This is also a great way to date, all you have to do is give up your free thinking and believe in something that makes you look primitive an stupid.
- Popularity: People will do things just because everyone else is doing it. If someone has no religion and lives in a place with a lot of religious people, he is going to do what is popular, in this case, join a religion. That person is also going to think that if there are so many people who are “insert religion here” then they must be right. But many people join a religion and believe in god because they just want fit in.
- Difference: Difference: People will believe in god just because they don’t want to be different……..Errrr that’s about it….