Why do people stay religious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I believe in Jesus Christ and His Church. That’s why I “stay religious”.

Did you make that decision as an adult or were you raised that way?

If you were raised that way, do you think you'd be just as committed if you were raised as a Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim person, or in another religion?

I was actually raised Episcopal and converted to Catholicism in my mid-20s. I fell away for a time and went to a Buddhist temple for several years and then came back to the Catholic Church about 16 years ago. I’m sure my upbringing shaped my worldview as a Christian, but I became a lot more committed as an adult than I ever was as a child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I believe in Jesus Christ and His Church. That’s why I “stay religious”.

Did you make that decision as an adult or were you raised that way?

If you were raised that way, do you think you'd be just as committed if you were raised as a Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim person, or in another religion?

I was actually raised Episcopal and converted to Catholicism in my mid-20s. I fell away for a time and went to a Buddhist temple for several years and then came back to the Catholic Church about 16 years ago. I’m sure my upbringing shaped my worldview as a Christian, but I became a lot more committed as an adult than I ever was as a child.

I bet it's different for everyone, based on personality and circumstances. I was very committed as a child - the only one in my family, but fell away as an adult, while still a believer, then left religion for good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I've always thought it was odd that a small percentage of people, some of whom like to consider themselves smart, like to think the universe pointlessly exploded out of nothing and then matter randomly and purposelessly assembled itself into galaxies and solar systems and then, closer to home, into dinosaurs, Leonardo Da Vinci and then you. Seems of a lot of effort for it all to just spontaneously occur for no reason at all.

These smart people that you speak of have figured out a lot over the centuries, but they haven't yet figured out everything. But they're working on it. Which is more than you can say about religious people, who think they have it all figured out. To their benefit of course.

They are going to heaven forever. because they are good and they believe in God.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am relatively religious (about a once a month church goer) but not sure whether / to what extent I believe in God, Jesus, etc. I am open to it though. We go to a church that encourages questions. (We recently had a sermon around Christmas -was Mary a virgin? Probably not but that's not the point). I have gone from a GWB-type conservative prior to becoming a regular church attendee to a relatively progressive person. I have become much more empathetic and engaged in the community. I like learning about Jesus, having time to meditate/reflect, gathering in a multigenerational group, having built-in volunteer opportunities, giving my kids a religious foundation, the rituals, setting the example to go to church when we'd rather sleep in or for the kids just watch cartoons- helps build discipline and attention span, etc. I am skeptical of anyone who claims to "know" the truth or take the Bible literally - but I also think Jesus' example was so revolutionary and his teachings so foundational to the development of western civilization and the idea of the inherent worth of each individual human being, there just might be something to it. Maybe Jews or Buddhists are closer to the truth. Who knows. But I was raised in a Christian tradition and I find meaning in that faith and enjoy the holidays and rituals, so I don't feel the need to explore other faiths too deeply (other than knowing Islam is not for me after my intro to Islam course in college).

As noted in this Atlantic article, unlike much of modern life, "the religious ritual is typically embodied, synchronous, deep, and collective," which has salutary effects on society overall. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/04/america-religion-decline-non-affiliated/677951/

Sounds like you've found a liberal religious outlet that works for you and your family and that belief itself is not very important. Possibly it's not something that you think about much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well I stay religious because I believe to the very core of my existence that my religion is true. I and most religious scholars also believe our faith is compatible with modern science (which has absolutely nothing to say on the existence or non-existence of God).

Quote me one religious scholar who believes any faith is compatible with modern science.

[Anonymous]

People are dumb. Religion tells them what to think so they don't have to deal with reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I've always thought it was odd that a small percentage of people, some of whom like to consider themselves smart, like to think the universe pointlessly exploded out of nothing and then matter randomly and purposelessly assembled itself into galaxies and solar systems and then, closer to home, into dinosaurs, Leonardo Da Vinci and then you. Seems of a lot of effort for it all to just spontaneously occur for no reason at all.

No scientist or educated person thinks that it happened just spontaneously for no reason at all. What you claim is bullshoot. A lie, even.

You haven’t even read one cosmology book. Even a high school level one.

If you want to have a cosmological discussion try not to write such stupid posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I've always thought it was odd that a small percentage of people, some of whom like to consider themselves smart, like to think the universe pointlessly exploded out of nothing and then matter randomly and purposelessly assembled itself into galaxies and solar systems and then, closer to home, into dinosaurs, Leonardo Da Vinci and then you. Seems of a lot of effort for it all to just spontaneously occur for no reason at all.

Logical fallacy called The argument from incredulity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I've always thought it was odd that a small percentage of people, some of whom like to consider themselves smart, like to think the universe pointlessly exploded out of nothing and then matter randomly and purposelessly assembled itself into galaxies and solar systems and then, closer to home, into dinosaurs, Leonardo Da Vinci and then you. Seems of a lot of effort for it all to just spontaneously occur for no reason at all.

No scientist or educated person thinks that it happened just spontaneously for no reason at all. What you claim is bullshoot. A lie, even.

You haven’t even read one cosmology book. Even a high school level one.

If you want to have a cosmological discussion try not to write such stupid posts.

+1. I never thought I could understand or be interested in cosmology. Then I started listening to Lawrence Krauss. PP should look him up. He's a theoretical physicist and cosmologist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I believe in Jesus Christ and His Church. That’s why I “stay religious”.

Did you make that decision as an adult or were you raised that way?

If you were raised that way, do you think you'd be just as committed if you were raised as a Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim person, or in another religion?

I was actually raised Episcopal and converted to Catholicism in my mid-20s. I fell away for a time and went to a Buddhist temple for several years and then came back to the Catholic Church about 16 years ago. I’m sure my upbringing shaped my worldview as a Christian, but I became a lot more committed as an adult than I ever was as a child.

It sounds like you don't know what you believe. Have you tried out nothing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well, I believe in Jesus Christ and His Church. That’s why I “stay religious”.

Did you make that decision as an adult or were you raised that way?

If you were raised that way, do you think you'd be just as committed if you were raised as a Hindu, Buddhist or Muslim person, or in another religion?

I was actually raised Episcopal and converted to Catholicism in my mid-20s. I fell away for a time and went to a Buddhist temple for several years and then came back to the Catholic Church about 16 years ago. I’m sure my upbringing shaped my worldview as a Christian, but I became a lot more committed as an adult than I ever was as a child.

It sounds like you don't know what you believe. Have you tried out nothing?

No, I’m happy as a Catholic, thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I stay religious because I believe to the very core of my existence that my religion is true. I and most religious scholars also believe our faith is compatible with modern science (which has absolutely nothing to say on the existence or non-existence of God).

Quote me one religious scholar who believes any faith is compatible with modern science.

John Walton's view was espoused by most professors I knew at Wheaton, and the science profs all believed in the Big Bang. Don't think you can honestly call anyone who taught at Moody and Wheaton liberal (though a few crazy insane conservative types try, especially the political ones).

“Concordists believe the Bible must agree—be in concord with—all the findings of contemporary science. Through the entire Bible, there is not a single instance in which God revealed to Israel a science beyond their own culture. No passage offers a scientific perspective that was not common to the Old World science of antiquity.”

For example he puts forth an argument from ancient Mespotamian culture that Genesis 1 isn't really about exactly how God created the earth, but rather about why God did it and that he made it work.

“Instead of offering a statement of causes, Genesis 1 is offering a statement of how everything will work according to God’s purposes. In that sense the text looks to the future (how this cosmos will function for human beings with God at its center) rather than to the past (how God brought material into being). Purpose entails some level of causation (though it does not specify the level) and affirms sovereign control of the causation process.”

“If we follow the sense of the literature and its ideas of creation, we find that people in the ancient Near East did not think of creation in terms of making material things—instead, everything is function oriented. The gods are beginning their own operations and are making all of the elements of the cosmos operational. Creation thus constituted bringing order to the cosmos from an originally nonfunctional condition. It is from this reading of the literature that we may deduce a functional ontology in the ancient world—that is, that they offer accounts of functional origins rather than accounts of material origins.”

(https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-1-as-Ancient-Cosmology/dp/1575063840)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_H._Walton

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Personally, I've always thought it was odd that a small percentage of people, some of whom like to consider themselves smart, like to think the universe pointlessly exploded out of nothing and then matter randomly and purposelessly assembled itself into galaxies and solar systems and then, closer to home, into dinosaurs, Leonardo Da Vinci and then you. Seems of a lot of effort for it all to just spontaneously occur for no reason at all.

Logical fallacy called The argument from incredulity

I'm on first PP's side of the debate, but I appreciate you calling out a fallacy when you see one. Logic is awesome.

[Anonymous]

I remain religious,, meaning, my faith in God continues, because my eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit. It is similar in Acts 9 when Paul describes his sight returning, “There fell from his eyes as it had been scales…”

It is plain to see (now) that God exists: the countless interconnected mechanisms that is impossible to have occurred without intelligent direction. I see the reproduction systems of ducks, orchids, and mammals, all of which require structures to be in place at the same time to function. You cannot evolve a human without lungs, veins, blood, and a heart: all of these must be present at birth or it dies, never reproducing.

The believer in the fable of evolution claims we evolved from lower primates and primitive organisms because there are genetic similarities.

It is true there are genetic similarities such as veins in leaves, insect wings, and humans. This does not indicate, and certainly does not prove common descent but common design. Veins, like highways, are efficient means for transport, so God uses the same blueprint in various organisms.

As for “junk DNA”, God does not produce junk, does not create useless things. Everything is created with a purpose. Junk DNA is simply DNA that was either not activated or, like after a second set of teeth, the DNA is switched off, not producing a third set of teeth.

I get frustrated when people cannot see the truth but I am reminded I used to be blind and did not see until I repented of my sins, believed in Jesus the son of God, and was baptized —full immersion under water, in the name of Jesus Christ.

There is an active agent in this world named Satan who works ceaselessly to keep people blind. False religions that deny Jesus is the son of God is the main method because children who grow up in such religions often do not question it out of fear of being murdered or isolated from family.

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. —2 Corinthians 4:4

Satan is often assisted by a person’s sins which keeps a person out of fellowship with God and drags that person down a path of continued disbelief and disobedience until Satan runs out the clock and the person dies in his sins.


I [Jesus] said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. —John 8:24

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remain religious,, meaning, my faith in God continues, because my eyes have been opened by the Holy Spirit. It is similar in Acts 9 when Paul describes his sight returning, “There fell from his eyes as it had been scales…”

It is plain to see (now) that God exists: the countless interconnected mechanisms that is impossible to have occurred without intelligent direction. I see the reproduction systems of ducks, orchids, and mammals, all of which require structures to be in place at the same time to function. You cannot evolve a human without lungs, veins, blood, and a heart: all of these must be present at birth or it dies, never reproducing.

The believer in the fable of evolution claims we evolved from lower primates and primitive organisms because there are genetic similarities.

It is true there are genetic similarities such as veins in leaves, insect wings, and humans. This does not indicate, and certainly does not prove common descent but common design. Veins, like highways, are efficient means for transport, so God uses the same blueprint in various organisms.

As for “junk DNA”, God does not produce junk, does not create useless things. Everything is created with a purpose. Junk DNA is simply DNA that was either not activated or, like after a second set of teeth, the DNA is switched off, not producing a third set of teeth.

I get frustrated when people cannot see the truth but I am reminded I used to be blind and did not see until I repented of my sins, believed in Jesus the son of God, and was baptized —full immersion under water, in the name of Jesus Christ.

There is an active agent in this world named Satan who works ceaselessly to keep people blind. False religions that deny Jesus is the son of God is the main method because children who grow up in such religions often do not question it out of fear of being murdered or isolated from family.

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. —2 Corinthians 4:4

Satan is often assisted by a person’s sins which keeps a person out of fellowship with God and drags that person down a path of continued disbelief and disobedience until Satan runs out the clock and the person dies in his sins.


I [Jesus] said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. —John 8:24

You my friend are a perfect example to disprove that God doesn't create junk