Are We Born to Believe in God?

I still don't believe.

Magical thinking (belief in god) is an intellectual stage of development that all childrn go through.

Many people get stuck in that stage out of fear, or ignorance, or apathy.

Others continue to develop and leave behind immature and childish superstition, to face the world with a clear mind.

Thus, the atheist is intellectually superior to the religious, to those with a stunted intellect, to those who cling to magical thinking.

It is a wonderful question for contemplation regardless of where you come down.

Religion began when primitive humans noticed a relationship between the Sun and life. They had no idea what the Sun was but they inferred it was responsible for life. The relationship is science fact now. What if for some reason on Earth there was light yet you could not actually see the Sun? I'm sure this is technically possible by some cosmic arrangement. What if there was simply light during the day and dark at night, no stars were ever visible. I think then religion would never have developed.

Human Developmental research, via Ken Wilber, Don Beck, and Clare Graves, provides the answer. We all go through stages of development, and we all start at ground zero.

Well we may be hardwired to believe in something supernatural, but not necessarily god (nor a specific god). We can find the same belonging and sense of wonder and greatness in the science community, or in the art community, or in philosophy. Religion just happens to be the largest and it benefits us most as a species to belong to the biggest group to "survive."

i think we're hardwired and taught since God is mentioned so much in our lives.
i mean it just depends on your environment.. or you.

Myth is NOT "a lie",.....it IS however a metaphor. The map is NOT the terrain.( Its all indecipherable data without the map you superimpose upon it.) ...And often, what you see is what you get,.....bear in mind you "had it" even before you "saw" it.

.......................or not.

This is a pretty stupid claim. All this suggests is that humans are inherently seekers of the profound and the tremendous. I've had multiple "religious" or peak experiences, but it doesn't mean an invisible man doesn't want me to eat meat on sundays.

Humans want to experience the profound, and reality as it is is utterly profound and incredible.

I think that a big draw of religion is a sense of social belonging as well. I grew up in a predominately Christian area (easily over 90%) and often felt like an outsider because my family didn't attend church. There were times when I felt the need to belong, but even if I had decided to attend church, I don't think I could have fooled myself into believing in the existence of god. When I was young I didn't even believe in Santa Claus even though my parents did nothing to dispel that myth. I did play along with that lie, because I sensed that was what was expected of me. Later in life when I was a proclaimed atheist I had people admit to me that although they were raised Christian, they did not believe in god and only went along with it because it was expected of them. There may be something hardwired to cause people to accept religion, but I think there is a pronounced social aspect to it as well.

when I was little church taught me to sing loud and proud,{and off key was ok}{tolerance} church taught me respect for others, and mega respect for our Elders, church taught me in this big world I am not alone, church taught me I am rich. there are people that have no food, church taught me to work hard and give only 10% back to him,{missions, food pantries,} and I would be blessed. Church taught me to Love purely, my "neighbor", settle our differences and not sue, Church taught me to look out for the widows and children and downtrodden{regardless of faith, color, attitude, or history} on and on and this is not taught in elementary schools because it is considers brainwashing. and when i left the building on Sundays I felt peaceful and loved and rich.

Mystics and shaman the world over , have one thing in common in the first step on their spiritual path . Be not afraid . Or as Frank Herbert wrote in "Dune" , "Fear is the mind killer " . Another thing these people have in common , is fasting . I have always thought it interesting that the kidneys are considered the seat of fear in chinese traditional medicine . Your health will surely have significant impact on your outlook on life . Perhaps if your body is struggling with toxins of one kind or another , there is a body fear , transmitted to the mind thus becoming a mental state . A feeling of being under attack , may be projected onto the outside from the inside . Consider what dreams you have when ill , or obsessions when suffering . The liver is the seat of anger . I would like to see some research in this direction . In my own life there seems to be a remarkable correlation . So , no , I do not believe people need to believe in god . I think it is a response to fear and is a way to cope and self comfort . Religion has it's place in helping people grow psychologically . Children are becoming conscious of aspects in themselves when they believe in santa clause . The beloved jolly abundant generosity that exists in most of us . Our love of children and wish to see them happy . If all goes well they will become like santa . Santa exists in all of us . That is what is real . So to , it is with god .

Man has searched for god since the dawn of man. Why do you suppose that is? I think this article might have the answers....

The "religious" tendencies they speak about include: fear of the unknown - including paranoia. Basically, our ancestors evolved to be afraid of anything they were unsure about; e.g. strange noises in the woods, the dark, what ever was causing the ground to tremble, etc. Fear - especially during our early evolution - served our survival. Superstition - including religion - is a by-product of that fear and paranoia. Just as our ancestors invented tools(weapons) to control what they feared in their environment, the fearful mind invented rituals and prayer in attempts to control the unknown; e.g. the "deities" making the ground rumble. These weapons acted as a comfort blanket - putting their mind at ease while living in a hostile environment.

Other tools were developed by those who selfishly wanted an easier life; e.g. wealth, power. Some of our ancestors realized they could manipulate the fearful by using untestable threats. These untestable threats came in the form of curses and later, eternal punishment. Of course, as with all untestable threats, they usually offer a way out/reward - do as I say, and no harm will come to you. This basic criminal behavior served the survival of those doing the manipulating and gave the victims of the threats peace of mind. Those brave enough to question wouldn't have been tolerated. As religion became a little more civilized - by not executing anyone who questioned its criminal threats - atheism flourished.

We are not hardwired to believe in God. We are hardwired to fear what we perceive as a threat to our existence. We are also hardwired to trust authority (adults) - whom indoctrinate children with erroneous religious and superstitious beliefs.

Atheism is not fighting against nature - it is just a lack of belief in a deity. Rationalism and reason are also part of our nature - this also serves our survival. The more we understand about our environment and the way things work, the less we rely on superstition.

By Times commenter, Sean Cruise.