What makes people continue to believe?

[The Magic Pudding]

most Baptists despise Catholics

Why?

[Thumpalumpacus]

most Baptists despise Catholics

Why?

They regard saintly intercession as thinly-disguised polytheism, and the veneration of Mary as vestigial paganism.  Plus, most Catholics are "furriners", so that also twangs their xenophobic strings too.

[The Magic Pudding]

They regard saintly intercession as thinly-disguised polytheism, and the veneration of Mary as vestigial paganism.  Plus, most Catholics are "furriners", so that also twangs their xenophobic strings too.

Thanks mate for clearing this all up for me.
I'll interpret it as church leaders are playing the in group out group game.
Around here there was a catholic/protestant sectarian issue, but we matured in mind and saw the errors of our ways.
Or it could have been waves of migrants made us redefine the other.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'll interpret it as church leaders are playing the in group out group game.

Which is what religion boils down to at the end of the day.

[Velma]

There's come a time in many people's life, I would imagine, where they question something about themselves, especially when it comes to God and spirituality. I know I did in mine, and I believe, for some reason, I saw through the bullshit that is religion and faith in gods and all the things that come with it.

So if this is happening on a large scale, yet people are still- for lack of a better term- remaining religious, what is causing them to continue to believe?

Is it different for different personalities? Which religion it is? Geographic location? IQ? EQ?

What was it for you, if you experienced it? Namely, if you weren't raised secularly.

I'm not exactly sure what one particular thing it is that keeps people believing in God. There are some people who do it for the social interaction. I've heard some people say they feel comforted by the sounds of the songs (sounds affect brainwaves, so it's possible they do it for the same reason druids chanted?). I think you might be on to something with the personalities thing. Some religions, or no religion, appeals to people based on what they percieve to be right, or logical. I've got a decent IQ/EQ, live in middle-america, was raised Southern Baptist, lived agnostically, and teetered on athiesm until I started learning about how science interacts with faith..then joined the Catholic Church because of it. I don't think it was because I'm dumb, and it certainly wasn't because of my upbringing (most Baptists despise Catholics).
  ....the world may never know.

I can't wait till you bump into Velma, her life story mirrors yours but for her the science issue pushed her the other way. It'll be interesting to see you discussing this.

Yes it did.  I went from catholic, to baptist, to methodist, to baptist, to nondenominational, and then back to catholic.  The story is rather long, but I've posted it here.  I'd post a longer response, but we are about to leave.

[Cite134]

It ultimately depends on the person I suppose. Overall, my experience with believing was horrible. Glad I got away from it.

[ug333]

I'm not exactly sure what one particular thing it is that keeps people believing in God. There are some people who do it for the social interaction. I've heard some people say they feel comforted by the sounds of the songs (sounds affect brainwaves, so it's possible they do it for the same reason druids chanted?). I think you might be on to something with the personalities thing. Some religions, or no religion, appeals to people based on what they percieve to be right, or logical. I've got a decent IQ/EQ, live in middle-america, was raised Southern Baptist, lived agnostically, and teetered on athiesm until I started learning about how science interacts with faith..then joined the Catholic Church because of it. I don't think it was because I'm dumb, and it certainly wasn't because of my upbringing (most Baptists despise Catholics).
  ....the world may never know.

I went from nondenominational to Lutheran to catholic to agnostic ... and here I am. For me, when I was struggling to get everything to fit together, I ran into major problems with protestant theology. Of course, in my case, I continued having problems with theology and find myself a newly formed agnostic.

[Being_Brave]

I can't wait till you bump into Velma, her life story mirrors yours but for her the science issue pushed her the other way. It'll be interesting to see you discussing this.

Yes it did.  I went from catholic, to baptist, to methodist, to baptist, to nondenominational, and then back to catholic.  The story is rather long, but I've posted it here.  I'd post a longer response, but we are about to leave.

Hi Velma!

[Being_Brave]

I went from nondenominational to Lutheran to catholic to agnostic ... and here I am. For me, when I was struggling to get everything to fit together, I ran into major problems with protestant theology. Of course, in my case, I continued having problems with theology and find myself a newly formed agnostic.

The way I figure it, if you can get all the facts about religion and still don't want any part of it, then you are where you're supposed to be. I don't mean that in a bad way.  Athiests/Agnostics tend to give the rest of us reality checks when we get really crazy, and the least crazy of us tend to listen even if we don't change our minds

[Gawen]

Athiests/Agnostics tend to give the rest of us reality checks when we get really crazy, and the least crazy of us tend to listen even if we don't change our minds

That totally mindboggles me.

[tymygy]

The way I figure it, if you can get all the facts about religion and still don't want any part of it, then you are where you're supposed to be. I don't mean that in a bad way.  Athiests/Agnostics tend to give the rest of us reality checks when we get really crazy, and the least crazy of us tend to listen even if we don't change our minds

Huh?

[DropLogic]

I went from atheist to atheist.

[Being_Brave]

Athiests/Agnostics tend to give the rest of us reality checks when we get really crazy, and the least crazy of us tend to listen even if we don't change our minds

That totally mindboggles me.

E.g. If I were to have taken the issue of human protogenesis to a Catholic forum I would have gotten support that the few human cases it mentioned were proof of virgin birth, but when I brought it here Whitney gave me a reality check: that the details given about the "proven cases" weren't difinitive, and very flawed. So, while I didn't change my mind about the possiblity (since it can occur in other mammals), I know without a doubt that it's still just a possibility, not fact.

[Gawen]

Athiests/Agnostics tend to give the rest of us reality checks when we get really crazy, and the least crazy of us tend to listen even if we don't change our minds

That totally mindboggles me.

E.g. If I were to have taken the issue of human protogenesis to a Catholic forum I would have gotten support that the few human cases it mentioned were proof of virgin birth, but when I brought it here Whitney gave me a reality check: that the details given about the "proven cases" weren't difinitive, and very flawed. So, while I didn't change my mind about the possiblity (since it can occur in other mammals), I know without a doubt that it's still just a possibility, not fact.

Honestly, I do understand you. But I have to ask....where and why draw reality checks at all when dealing with superstition; religious or not?

It's early today and I'm fairly certain I haven't asked the proper question. But you may get what I'm asking. Sorry in advance.

[The Magic Pudding]

I found some odd posts in this thread on the sexless reproduction theme a bit odd.
From my limited knowledge of the "facts" the two parties involved with the biblical event ascended to heaven.
No scientific verification of details is possible.
I don't understand why some dubious examples of sexless reproduction have any relevance to the immaculate conception story.

I can understand the desperation of parents with an unmarried pregnant daughter, ready to grab at any story that would save her from a stoning.

Or maybe the story tellers writing up the texts just tossed in the virgin birth, just because that was fashionable at the time.