• Dave@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Religion has certain self-reinforcing properties. Kind of like genes that make it more likely to propagate against other forms of information.

    • Believing without question is better than questioning
    • Not believing will be punished
    • Virtue will be rewarded
    • Spreading the belief is a virtue
    • You should obey your parents

    Combine that with young human brains being malleable, and religion tends to continue against all odds.

  • PonyOfWar@pawb.social
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    10 months ago

    Because religion provides comfort, community and a meaning to people’s existence that goes beyond “we were born of chance on an insignificant rock somewhere in the universe”.

    (I’m not religious BTW)

  • HippoMoto@lemmy.ml
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    10 months ago

    Have you heard of the fireplace delusion? Burning wood is horrible for our health and the environment, but most of us have fond memories of sitting by a fire. Religion is the same. Holiday traditions with family, organized events marking important life events, it’s hard to break away.

    https://www.samharris.org/blog/the-fireplace-delusion

  • Bakachu@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    Childhood indoctrination is a big part of it. I have been told by my 8-year old niece that she’d like to save me from drowning in a lake of fire. She was genuinely scared for me. It’s literal child abuse followed by Stockholm syndrome.