Why do so many people believe in God? (2023)

Why do humans believe in God?

We all have the same basic brain. And our brains have evolved to work in a particular way." Through the lens of evolution, a belief in God serves a very important purpose: Religious belief set us on the path to modern life by stopping cheaters and promoting the social good.

It also turns out that people who have religious or spiritual beliefs are happier than those who don't, no matter what their beliefs. Religious beliefs, she says, “give people a sense of meaning.” It also gives them a social network. “It gives a sense of well being or comfort.”

For example, whereas 95% of the general population believes in God, only 66% of psychologists do, and whereas 75% of the public agree that their approach to life is based on their religion, only 35% percent of psychologists surveyed agree with this statement (Delaney et al., 2007).

Having spiritual beliefs might also lead to enjoying a longer, healthier life. A large body of research finds that religious people live longer, are less prone to depression, are less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, and even go to the dentist more often.

The exact time when humans first became religious remains unknown, however research in evolutionary archaeology shows credible evidence of religious-cum-ritualistic behavior from around the Middle Paleolithic era (45–200 thousand years ago).

The studies (both analytical and empirical) conclude that humans are predisposed to believe in God and an afterlife, and that both theology and atheism are reasoned responses to what is a basic impulse of the human mind, a university release said.

The quick and easy answer to why people are religious is that God – in whichever form you believe he/she/they take(s) – is real and people believe because they communicate with it and perceive evidence of its involvement in the world.

Researcher Helmuth Nyborg and Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Ulster, compared belief in God and IQs. Using data from a U.S. study of 6,825 adolescents, the authors found that the average IQ of atheists was 6 points higher than the average IQ of non-atheists.

Humans have 100 years, possibly, to make use of our body, and religion gives us a chance to make our life worth living. You see, the necessity of religion is that no matter what you're looking for, it fills you up. Religion makes life better.

Can religion and science coexist?

Religion and science are fundamentally incompatible. They disagree profoundly on how we obtain knowledge of the world. Science is based observation and reasoning from observation. Religion assumes that human beings can access a deeper level of information that is not available by either observation or reason.

In fact, among the orthodox of one particular faith, there is opposition to psychotherapy because it allows patients to discuss sexual issues of all types, something that is forbidden.

As mentioned earlier, evidence for God's existence is widely available through creation, conscience, rationality and human experience.

Contradictions. The Bible is an unreliable authority because it contains numerous contradictions. Logically, if two statements are contradictory, at least one of them is false. The biblical contradictions therefore prove that the book has many false statements and is not infallible.

Humans may have developed religion as a way to promote cooperation in social groups, Dunbar said. He noted that primates tend to live in groups because doing so benefits them in certain ways. For instance, hunting in groups is more effective than hunting alone.

Christianity originated with the ministry of Jesus, a Jewish teacher and healer who proclaimed the imminent Kingdom of God and was crucified c. AD 30–33 in Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea.

The idea that God is a self-existent being was developed and explained by St. Anselm in the eleventh century. By various arguments Anselm had satisfied him- self that among those beings that exist there is one that is supremely great and good-nothing that exists or ever did exist is its equal.

According to Dr Petrovich, an expert in psychology of religion, belief in God is not taught but develops naturally. She told The Age yesterday that belief in God emerged as a result of other psychological development connected with understanding causation.

The 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher Diagoras is known as the "first atheist", and strongly criticized religion and mysticism. Epicurus was an early philosopher to dispute many religious beliefs, including the existence of an afterlife or a personal deity.

What was the first religion?

Hinduism is the world's oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Today, with about 900 million followers, Hinduism is the third-largest religion behind Christianity and Islam. Roughly 95 percent of the world's Hindus live in India.

The Presbyterian Church has had the sharpest decline in church membership: between 2000 and 2015 they lost over 40% of their congregation and 15.4% of their churches. Infant baptism has also decreased; nationwide, Catholic baptisms are down by nearly 34%, and ELCA baptisms by over 40%.

Hinduism. According to the principle scripture of Hinduism, the Bhagavad-gītā, truth is Krishna himself. This is confirmed by Vyasa as stated in the verse, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth.

World Population by Religion

About 85% of the world's people identify with a religion.