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May 12th, 2011
12:46 PM ET
Religious belief is human nature, huge new study claimsBy Richard Allen Greene, CNN London (CNN) - Religion comes naturally, even instinctively, to human beings, a massive new study of cultures all around the world suggests. "We tend to see purpose in the world," Oxford University professor Roger Trigg said Thursday. "We see agency. We think that something is there even if you can't see it. ... All this tends to build up to a religious way of thinking." Trigg is co-director of the three-year Oxford-based project, which incorporated more than 40 different studies by dozens of researchers looking at countries from China to Poland and the United States to Micronesia. Studies around the world came up with similar findings, including widespread belief in some kind of afterlife and an instinctive tendency to suggest that natural phenomena happen for a purpose. "Children in particular found it very easy to think in religious ways," such as believing in God's omniscience, said Trigg. But adults also jumped first for explanations that implied an unseen agent at work in the world, the study found. The study doesn't say anything about whether God, gods or an afterlife exist, said Justin Barrett, the project's other co-director. "This project does not set out to prove God or gods exist. Just because we find it easier to think in a particular way does not mean that it is true in fact," he said. Both atheists and religious people could use the study to argue their sides, Trigg told CNN. Famed secularist Richard "Dawkins would accept our findings and say we've got to grow out of it," Trigg argued. But people of faith could argue that the universality of religious sentiment serves God's purpose, the philosophy professor said. "Religious people would say, 'If there is a God, then ... he would have given us inclinations to look for him,'" Trigg said. The blockbuster study may not take a stance on the existence of God, but it has profound implications for religious freedom, Trigg contends. "If you've got something so deep-rooted in human nature, thwarting it is in some sense not enabling humans to fulfill their basic interests," Trigg said. "There is quite a drive to think that religion is private," he said, arguing that such a belief is wrong. "It isn't just a quirky interest of a few, it's basic human nature." "This shows that it's much more universal, prevalent, and deep-rooted. It's got to be reckoned with. You can't just pretend it isn't there," he said. And the Oxford study, known as the Cognition, Religion and Theology Project, strongly implies that religion will not wither away, he said. "The secularization thesis of the 1960s - I think that was hopeless," Trigg concluded. |
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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The only reason people believe in an afterlife/religion/god is simply out of fear of the unknown and to be able to explain the unexplainable.
Simply makes the transition from death to nothingness easier.
Exactly because, it's easier to believe we just wink out instead and go to sleep forever, instead of being judged by a creator and sentanced to an eternal damnation. It's easy to be an athiest with no faith because you believe you wont have to suffer in a horrible place forever, if you deserve it. Life is very very special, and if you know history, it's almost like someone is doing a study, testing faith, and testing our hearts, watching and noting. "Don't allow them to belive in the truth but see if there is something even more specia they may possessl that he can't control to delegate feelings. It's all a test. Life is a big FAT test. Give them 50% Good and 50% bad. If I was a God, I would want to see what happens too!
I cannot understand how someone does not believe in God. Look around at this beautiful world we live in. I know there is a God because of how Jesus Christ changed my life. He can change your life too; all you have to do is ask him to.
It's easy, I don't believe there is a god because, there is no god. Show me a god and I'll believe. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn't come from god.
You know that there is not a single first hand account of Jesus in the bible, right? Not one of the apostles could actually read or write and his legend was passed down through word of mouth over 75 years until it could be scribed. When it was written it was done so by scribes who actually believed in the ancient Greek gods evident in how every major event in the New Testament is actually a major event in the myth of Dionysus (known as "the King of Kings" and the Son of a the Virgin Nana and Zeus). Sorry to burst your bubble but the Bible does not hold a shred of truth about the real Jesus.
You've been thoroughly brainwashed...
(Would you agree with someone who would just subst.itute "Allah" or "Mohammed" (or Zeus) for "Jesus" in your statement?
Wayne your reasoning is weak. You have to be shown you have to be shown your bladder to prove you have one? How about your character? Apparently, you don't think deeply.
OK god might be real but why say Christianity is the right choice? do you think that your feelings of righteousness are any stronger than a Jews? and by the way jesus story was stolen from many other gods
any one who asks me to disprove god, i would like them to answer this. prove that i am real and not a figment of your imagination?
How come there was no coin made of Jesus of Nazareth since he was so popular?
Everybody remembers his very words but nobody describes his portrait in the same details.
Yeppers – my God connection switch has always been on.
If energy can't be created or destroyed and all things are made of it where did it come from?
Mother Nature and God is mother.
Gravity, or lack there of, can in fact cause energy to end and begin. Thus the Big Bang and the Universe you see before you.
I don't know where it came from but I know it didn't come from god.
I think belief in an afterlife is really the key to why people are religious. People are afraid to die, and they might have such anxiety over it that they can't make good use of their time on earth, saying "it's all going to come to nothing anyway." So if people believe death is not the end, then paradoxically, they can concentrate better on living. It's very hard to accept your death and that of your loved ones, but if you believe it's not the end, you don't really have to accept it, but just assume it's a stage you pass through, and you'll be reunited with the people you care about even after you die.
Maybe this is one reason why people get mad at atheists, because they feel atheists are trying to deny their hopes to transcend such loss and sadness. I think some atheists make the mistake of thinking people are only religious because they're stupid or ignorant. In a scientific age, people are still religious because they're people, with human feelings of fear and loss. If you want people to respect an atheist view, the first thing you need to remember is to have compassion and respect religious people as fellow human beings first and foremost.
Bravo!!! Well said!
An awareness of God is one of the aspects of an intelligent life form.
Yet our intelligence has proved the God portrayed in the Bible doesn't exist.
Awareness of the Universes power and energy is intelligence believing in fantasy is not.
As a saying goes:
A barber who has no customers, shave head of his cat.
Likewise, atheists and non-believers have no job but to prove their false fantasies.
Is wanting to kill people who do not believe as you instinctual too?
Ridiculous agrument. Thou shalt not kill!
Well it looks like the atheists are out in force maintaining THEIR religion. Spreadin' the good word... Tell me atheists, who's watching?
Heaven forbid anyone write a story that even so much as questions the rationality of their dogma. Looks like they're in the minority and they'll probably stay there. So while they're busy maintaining their cork-sniffin highly evolved superior position, I guess the rest of us can just continue on in blissful ignorance, right?
The air's thin up there isn't it atheists? I've heard it's lonely at the top.
GOD IS CONSCIENCE AND CONSCIENCE IS GOD, ANYTHING ELSE IS A PURE FANTASY!
So... God is a mental process/effect which helps foster more "group friendly' behavior for increased survivability of the tribe. Nice to know. Haven't looked into psychology much, have we?
Abes you will know me when I return. Do you prefer dirty sanchez or teabag?
Every knee shall bow to THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER !!!!!
EVEN YOU!
...and His noodley appendage.
Ha!
How about say... um.... SPIRITUAL!!!!! Yes that could be it. SPIRITUAL. Could be the actual presence of God we feel. What a concept. Mother nature is wild and unihibited. Mother nature is exactly what causes us as humans to philander and do wild, untame things or at least gives us the urge. Just as a cat has that instinct to prey on birds and mice. But, that presence we feel that gives us compassion and love, that's Godly. Human nature... Find something worth writing about.
Dont compare humans to animals. Humans have waged a war on animals since the beginning of time. The destruction we have done to the earth and its creatures far out weigh any good we have done, including the religious.
If you had read Romans chapter 1 you would have already known this.
Never on Sunday.
Only one thing can be guaranteed .. one day we will all find out.
...unless there is no afterlife in which case no one will ever find out....without after life there would be no way for the "soul" or "brain" to keep thinking so without thought, we would cease to exist and thus would never know that no afterlife exists. hard to get your head around either way i think (afterlife vs. none).
After life does not mean there is a god Religion is been use by some as a powerfull weapon to control peoples with extremly simple mind or to brain wash peoples into killing "unbleiver" (Islam).
The world whould be a way better place whitout religion and the first one to go need to be Islam, as muslims are killing innocent peoples on a daily basis.
Religions either make you love others or divid us into madness people. We have more problems with it than good. I say its time to become seculars and start respecting eachothers no matter who we are as long as we are human being period.
My thinking is: “secular humanism” is the way to go.
Can anyone spend so much money on studies and experiments to prove that Sun rises not from East but from West. Likewise, spending money, effort in trying to convince hard and prove that God is not there is as foolish as that.
Sorry pal. Science is not in the business of proving the null hypothesis. Try again.
Science has too much of a rich history of being wrong. Science is just now beginning to realize how wrong it is, in the big picture. Like Einstein said, God doesn't just roll dice.
Science is in constant evolution, it’s alive and changing according to new findings by very intelligent human beings. Religion is dull and dead. Viva secular humanism!
"god" is an idiotic idea promoted by immoral people to pacify and control the weak minded.
What's real idiotic is the idea that this thing called Evolution exists, and that we have evolved to kill each other.
We have not evolved to kill each other. Your idea is silly.
Your simple mind likes to ignore the obvious, like the fact there is not world peace.
how do people not believe in evolution? we can proven it with insects, viruses, and bacteria. take for example you spray a farmers field with a pesticide, you kill off 99% of the bugs. some bugs that were resistant to the pesticide survive, now those bugs repopulate the farm next year. the same pesticide will only kill off about 50% of the bugs next season. this will keep happening till the bugs that are there are no longer effected by the same pesticide and you will have to find something stronger or different! that is evolution! now explain to me creationism and how dinosaurs and neanderthal fit in, please i am dying to hear
don't you think if there was a god there would be world peace? unless your god doesn't care about you or the world. the alien creation myth is more plausible than an all knowing god and that can do anything he wants but hides like a coward. i know if i had a bunch of children and i saw them beating each other up i would intervene not sit back and say o well i got another 6 billion whats the problem with losing a few
No – that would be the opposite of religion – Communism.
Evolution is more of a fantasy than anything. It doesn't explain "who" invented the eyeball, for example. Evolution just says the eyeball just kinda happened. Of course, us humans cannot build an eyeball from scratch, but this magic power called "evolution" figured out how to make an eyeball. In fact, us humans couldnt even build decent car engine until a few decades ago. Like Einsten said, the idea of evolution is just too crazy.
Why do you think God is responsible for world peace? You obviously have not read much of the Bible at all. Otherwise you would have a much better idea of how God thinks.
Mouse Clicker: How do you know God did not use evolution or intelligent design or whatever method of his choice to create this wondeful world?
Mouse Clicker: And how do you know “how God thinks”?
Belief in immortality is nothing but narcissism. That's why Jews don't believe in personal immortality. Of course narcissism is part of "human nature" – along with a few other pejoratives such as avarice, mendacity and general ignorance.
It's not belief in afterlife that is instinctive, it is fear of death and fear of realization that if you are dead you are dead forever.
I agree but i think the belief in a higher power goes beyond death, its more of our human ego of being afraid that we are not any different than other animals. its fear that drives people to believe and you don't have fear it if you have an excuse for why something happens and that all the bad has a good purpose in the end.
You’re absolutely right Olaf, 100% right on the money. I couldn't have said it better myself....
We need to start looking at and accepting the reality of things and recognize the evidence and fact in science – instead of cloaking ourselves in a make-believe shroud of religious ideologies and laughable stories.
BINGO!
As far as I know, we humans are the only beings that realize our own mortality.
It's scary to think that once we go pfft! we are done. Therefore there HAS to be another there somewhere, or else life, to some, is just some big cosmic practical joke.
Nope...that's not it. It would be alot simoiler if death was the end. I think it's the non-believers who are afraid. Afraid to stand before God.
i am not afraid of death, i don't invite it in for some tea but i am quite curious about it and wonder what will happen. i am afraid of god if their is a god and he created all this beauty and detail and majesty just to destroy it? they say it will be our fault for it but he sits and does nothing, but could fix everything? that's a scary idea of what kind if mentality it would take to create such a universe only to destroy it instead of save it... and you people hate our government for how they act? you have your priorities all messed up
This is simple. It is because we were created by God that we have an instinctual belief in the afterlife. It is why we have a desire to look for something greater or "more out there." Unfortunately, instead of turning to Jesus for true fulfillment, people turn to false religions or other ways to fill that void.
Funny, I think your religion is false...
Shame they turn to any delusion
It's amazing that Christians think they have the elite status on God – God is all religions, all faiths, all walks of life. Stop putting God in a box.
God is dead, he needs to go in a box.
Amazing. Just amazing. People with simplistic views like yours make me fear for the future.
if god is all religions and places the idea of himself in everyone than why don't i believe and why do religions fight with each other about supremacy? they are used to create control and an in group out group kind of mentality. in our day and age religion has no place in society, we do not need a "god" presence anymore to explain things, we have science and look to science to explain things and not magic
Actually we evolved, and the mythical boogey-man didn't cause that either. Anyone who wants to know the truth should in fact be looking at all the studies proving beyond a doubt that faith is caused by brain damage and brain wahing, both leading to one ignoring reason. There's this tiny little piece of the brain, that when it gets damaged, causes people to become more "spiritual".
Well actually...your religion is false. The one true God is the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Everyone knows THAT.
His Pastaship may be found at http://www.venganza.org/
If it's instictual than it can't be delusional. Can something be true – if you didn't think of it?
My cat has an instinctive belief in the can opener.
The arrogance of Christianity revealed. Christianity MUST be the one true religion because the Bible, a mis translated, embellished story book says so.
If you were born in India, you'd believe in a different God(s) and respect a different book and say that all other religions are false. You place of birth dictates your faith, not an actual being.