Why does religion persist

System 1 bestows us with an innate revulsion of rotting meat, allows us to speak our native language without thinking about it and gives babies the ability to recognise parents and distinguish between living and nonliving objects. It makes us prone to looking for patterns to better understand our world, and to seek meaning for seemingly random events like natural disasters or the death of loved ones.

In addition to helping us navigate the dangers of the world and find a mate, some scholars think that System 1 also enabled religions to evolve and perpetuate. Millennia ago, that tendency probably helped us avoid concealed danger, such as lions crouched in the grass or venomous snakes concealed in the bush.

But it also made us vulnerable to inferring the existence of invisible agents — whether they took the form of a benevolent god watching over us, an unappeased ancestor punishing us with a drought or a monster lurking in the shadows. Similarly, System 1 encourages us to see things dualistically, meaning we have trouble thinking of the mind and body as a single unit.

This tendency emerges quite early: young children, regardless of their cultural background, are inclined to believe that they have an immortal soul — that their essence or personhood existed somewhere prior to their birth, and will always continue to exist. This disposition easily assimilates into many existing religions, or — with a bit of creativity — lends itself to devising original constructs.

Atheists must fight against all of that cultural and evolutionary baggage. Our minds crave purpose and explanation. Azerbaijani Muslims pray at the end of Ramadan Getty Images. On the other hand, science — the system of choice that many atheists and non-believers look to for understanding the natural world — is not an easy cognitive pill to swallow. Science is about correcting System 1 biases, McCauley says.

We must accept that the Earth spins, even though we never experience that sensation for ourselves. We must embrace the idea that evolution is utterly indifferent and that there is no ultimate design or purpose to the Universe, even though our intuition tells us differently.

We also find it difficult to admit that we are wrong, to resist our own biases and to accept that truth as we understand it is ever changing as new empirical data are gathered and tested — all staples of science.

Even without organised religion, they believe that some greater being or life force guides the world. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes. Follow Us. Terms Privacy Policy. Part of HuffPost Religion. All rights reserved. Skepticism about this so-called creator is warranted.

The year is Is it time for superstition to take a backseat to action? Todd Kashdan, Contributor. Suggest a correction. What's Hot. More In Religion. They arrive at the same place: There is no answer. In a way they know it. Tey will tell you. No one created God for God is the creator.

To me it does not make any sense, but to them it does. I rather live with the insecurity of not having an answer and know for myself that it is okay not to have complete answers. To me life is about asking quastions, take ot as far as you can and then be okay with not being able to go farther.

Be amazed and revel in this knowledge. Evolution acting on self-replicating molecular machinery; the most likely beginning of which was due to simple self-replicating molecules that arose from random interactions over billions of years, but constrained by the natural laws and forces which govern atoms given the amount of time and space we are talking about, statistically the rise of this first replicator it had to occur somewhere, sometime.

That is one of the theories, at least. Rationally, tempered by compassion and empathy for yourself and others. What happens when I die? You cease to be you. That is our honest understanding of brain death. Theologians like Thomas Aquinas will be surprised to learn that they were neither deeply reflective nor adult.

I persists for some because they are deeply reflective adults and are convinced that there is a God. Religion persists for a variety of reasons, many of which boil down to the fact that people give far too much weight to tradition. Religion persists for all the reasons given by the commenters above, plus this: It is politically useful to those whose continued power depends on an ignorant and complacent population.

The part about how then shall I live? However you want to live. Let no other tell you how it should be. If you choose to be a murdering thief then know the consequences of that life. Just the same, act in the manners which you find comfortable.

It is silly for any of us to tell you to not misbehave for you will choose to misbehave with or without our permission. It behooves you to know hat there are consequences if you do not behave as the local tribe deems necessary. If you should choose to act in manners which are not centrist, it is your choice. You want pink hair, have at it. You like same sex relations, have at it. You like rough sex, have at it.

You like geek things, have at it. You like harming others? Someone will harm you back. The law of reciprocity remains in effect. That whole bit about compassion and empathy? Take your thought policing and shove it. I will do as I damned well please. That is what life demands of me. When it benefits me to be empathetic, I will be. When it does not, I will not be. Are you worried about starving children right now?

Nicely done! Your own purpose. And what you want that to be. The answer to the question is: when people actually have all the things described, religion will be a minority pursuit. Religion answers those questions, but there is nothing to suggest there is any value or credibility to those answers. In fact, if we take the record of religions as any indication, it is exceedingly likely that religion will get those questions wrong.

Why do we not need religion for that? Oh yeah, because the explanations of religion for such things have been shown to be absolutely wrong on every count. Try to imagine that. I think that there can be value in the idea that we should mistrust certainty in the answers to those questions, that we should constantly be putting the answers under scrutiny to make sure they add up.

Nothing is worse for that than a philosophy which elevates belief without evidence to a virtue. My remark was not intended to say that all believers are shallow, or that no believers are deep.

I think your interpretation of my words might be too broad. Nevertheless, I apologize for not qualifying more clearly. This accounts for how we can respond with great sophistication and wisdom to some aspects of life, yet remain stuck in Never Never Land in response to other aspects of life.

Its advocates would be well advised to stop fabricating an enemy out of religion, or insisting that the only path to a secure future lies in a marriage of science and secularism. Computing and artificial intelligence. Algorithms associating appearance and criminality have a dark past.

Catherine Stinson. Gentle medicine could radically transform medical practice. Jacob Stegenga. Childhood and adolescence. For a child, being carefree is intrinsic to a well-lived life. Luara Ferracioli. Meaning and the good life. Sooner or later we all face death. Will a sense of meaning help us? Warren Ward.

Philosophy of mind. Kristopher Nielsen. Why religion is not going away and science will not destroy it. History of science Religion Values and beliefs. Aeon is not-for-profit and free for everyone Make a donation.