GCT
Posts: 1001
Joined: Aug. 2005
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| Quote (skeptic @ Dec. 26 2007,23:04) | | I'm going to go way out on a limb on this one as I have no formal education in psychology, other than required electives, but couldn't it be argued that most if not all foundational beliefs or ideas are arrived at via an emotional route. This route is what reinforces the belief to the point that someone can view their life in it's context. Think back to how you yourself came to this conclusion. Was it a single moment with a legal pad and two columns or was it a step-by-step journey built upon personal experiences? Again, this is all just speculation on my part but maybe the simple answer is that theists are only imagining what they themselves know. Most peoples' faith is that journey over time based upon their personal experiences and maybe we just assume that atheists go through the same process, or anti-process so to speak, lol. |
Thank you for your answer. I asked for your opinion and you gave it.
A follow up question though: why do you equate a step-by-step journey based on personal experiences with the "emotional route"? I'm not sure that necessarily must be the case that they are equal. My "personal experience" could have been taking a look at the claims of various religions and finding no evidence for them, which would be a wholly rational thing to do and would lead to the rational conclusion that I do not believe in those religions.
| Quote | | that's not exactly what I'm saying, it's more along the lines that decisions or inclinations one way or the other may be set at an early age without any real appeal to rationality. I can certainly look back at my youth and never see a point at which I ever doubted the existence of God. Everything since then has only confirmed that belief in my own mind but how much of that is objective or subjective. Had my initial my inclination been towards no belief in God would my position be just as strong in my own mind? I can't answer that but it seems to make sense. The outlier would be those that believe one way and "convert" at some point in adulthood, those might be the cases we need to look at. |
Most people grow up to be the religion of their parents. The only exception to that rule is generally atheists, at least in this country of overwhelming religiosity. Most atheists (that I've met online and elsewhere in this country) grew up in a home with theistic parents and have turned away from the religion they learned as a child.
You might be interested in this:
Sullivan's admission
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