So when you look at the really unique bizarre
things humans have come up with, ranging from
cave paintings to Snapchats and everything
in between, probably the most unique and universal
thing we’ve come up with is this religion
business.
We talk about the symbolic metaphorical thinking.
Essentially there has been no culture on earth
that has not invented some form of what could
be termed “meta-magical thinking,” attributing
things that cannot be seen, faith-based belief
systems, things of that sort.
It’s universal, and 90-95 percent of people
believe in some sort of omnipotent something
or other out there.
Every culture has it.
People have endlessly speculated about the
evolution of religiosity, and at least in
terms of westernized religions it makes perfect
sense why they’ve evolved: Because they’re
wonderful mechanisms for reducing stress.
It is an awful, terrifying world out there
where bad things happen and we’re all going
to die eventually.
And believing that there is something, someone
responsible for it at least gives some stress
reducing attributes built around understanding
causality.
If on top of that you believe there is not
only something out there responsible for all
of this but that there is a larger purpose
to it, that’s another level of stress reducing
explanation.
If then on top of it you believe that individual
out there is benevolent—even more so control
and predictability.
Benevolent and listens to human entreaties?
More elements of control.
Benevolent, listens to human entreaties, and
prefers to listen to people like you who look
like you, pray like you, request like you?
Even more so.
They’re just all these levels of control,
predictability; they’re stress reducing.
And what is infuriating to me as an utter
complete atheist is a very, very solid literature
showing the health benefits of religiosity,
independent of you tend to get a social supportive
community.
When you’re religious you have fewer lifestyle
risk factors.
The mere ability to perceive causality, reason,
benevolence—“Benevolence especially for
people like me if I say the right combination
of words and fervently believe in it”—that’s
wonderfully protective and there’s health
benefits to it.
If it is a totally heartless indifferent apathetic
universe out there you are far more at risk
for all the logical things which is to conclude
it is an utterly depressing universe out there.
Rates of depression are much higher among
atheists…
Go figure.
So in terms of that it makes perfect sense
why this is something that people have come
up with and rather than asking why is it that
95 percent of humans come up with some form
of religiosity, a much more biologically interesting
question to me is: What’s up with the five
percent of atheists who don’t do that?
