Reasons for becoming religious.

[Mike Cl]

   The first one I wasn't so much thinking the aspect of going to church, but having that imaginary friend always there for you. Social groups don't meet 24/7. An imaginary friend however can always be there. The socialization would only be a reinforcement that the friend is real.

As for the other two,  they are potential causes of lacking training or critical thinking, but I would agree with lumping them in.

I had not thought of that aspect--imaginary friend.  Yes, jesus is watching you all the time.  So is Harvey, I think.

[Odoital778412]

I'm interested in making a list of why people join a religion or become religious.  I don't want to make any judgments about whether it is a good or bad reason--just interested in the reasons. 
So far I've come up with the following.  Please add more and show me where I've  doubled up.  So far my list has 8 reasons:
1--Hope for an afterlife; fear of death.
2--Socialization
3--Tradition
4--Searching for answers to problems.
5--Comfort and assurance.
6--Searching for purpose and/or meaning in life.
7--A person feels it provides a set of morals and a value system.
8--Lack of responsibility; a lot of people do not take responsibility for their actions and choices and the world they create around them.  They look for something to blame and something to send their      problems to. 


Please add or subtract from this list as you see fit.  Thanks.

I have only 3 reasons at this point in my life.

1 - Because I actually believe its true.
2 - A deep sense of my own guilt, knowing that I'm a sinner.
3 - A subjective and personal sense of God's presence, protection, and even guiding hand in my life.

I think an older reason would have been socialization, in that my parents were the ones that first led to me Christ at the age of 3 years old.  And of course, my parents generally took care of me and looked out for my welfare.  They spent their lives trying to help me make wise decisions before I was in the position of being wise.  Given that, I felt that the faith that they shared with me could be trusted because they could be trusted.

That reason changed upon my entry into college.  I began a serious study of my faith to determine if it were truly, mostly because I was having genuine misgivings regarding original sin, the existence of evil, reliability of ancient documents, etc...  Given that, I ceased to be a Christian merely on the basis of my parents having been Christians and sharing that faith with me.

The other 7 reasons you've listed have never really occurred to me at all personally, though I do see them cited fairly often.

[Mike Cl]

I have only 3 reasons at this point in my life.

1 - Because I actually believe its true.
2 - A deep sense of my own guilt, knowing that I'm a sinner.
3 - A subjective and personal sense of God's presence, protection, and even guiding hand in my life.

I think an older reason would have been socialization, in that my parents were the ones that first led to me Christ at the age of 3 years old.  And of course, my parents generally took care of me and looked out for my welfare.  They spent their lives trying to help me make wise decisions before I was in the position of being wise.  Given that, I felt that the faith that they shared with me could be trusted because they could be trusted.

That reason changed upon my entry into college.  I began a serious study of my faith to determine if it were truly, mostly because I was having genuine misgivings regarding original sin, the existence of evil, reliability of ancient documents, etc...  Given that, I ceased to be a Christian merely on the basis of my parents having been Christians and sharing that faith with me.

The other 7 reasons you've listed have never really occurred to me at all personally, though I do see them cited fairly often.

Thanks for you reply.  I realize that these 8 reasons will not apply to everybody.  I was simply trying to gather the top 10 reasons (and why 10--because that seems to be the most popular number for every list) why people are or become religious.  I suppose I could add you #2 reason--guilt about not living up to a set of morals.  Thanks for your reply.

[Odoital778412]

Thanks for you reply.  I realize that these 8 reasons will not apply to everybody.  I was simply trying to gather the top 10 reasons (and why 10--because that seems to be the most popular number for every list) why people are or become religious.  I suppose I could add you #2 reason--guilt about not living up to a set of morals.  Thanks for your reply.

I wouldn't include my own standards as a separate category because it's merely a lower bar subset of moral behavior, or to put it more plainly, it's just about not living up to my own expectations with regard to my own behavior.  God's expectations are certainly a lot higher than mine, but the guilt in both is for the same reason.

Also, I wanted to make a observation about your list from the perspective of a long-time Christian.  I noted that the list seemed a bit odd to me, but I'd not thought of this until just now.  This list actually sounds like a list delineating why people might go to church on a long-term basis, not necessarily why they become Christians.  Keep in mind that part of what I'm pointing out is that a lot of people attend church and are not genuine followers of Jesus Christ.  Of those people that I have real reason to affirm are followers of Jesus Christ, I can't think of a single one where any of those reasons would actually apply to them.  I suspect that the vast majority of those people would give answers similar to my own.  Within the Church, there is the concept of the visible and the invisible Church.  The visible Church refers to all of the people who fill the pews, whether they're genuine Christians or not.  And the invisible Church refers only to those who could be considered regenerate or genuine believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

[hrdlr110]

1--Hope for an afterlife; fear of death.
2--Socialization
3--Tradition
4--Searching for answers to problems.
5--Comfort and assurance.
6--Searching for purpose and/or meaning in life.
7--A person feels it provides a set of morals and a value system.
8--Lack of responsibility; a lot of people do not take responsibility for their actions and choices and the world they create around them.  They look for something to blame and something to send their      problems to.
9.  Know/control the unknowable.
Thanks Solomon--added to the list

Pascal's wager might be included. Since it's an argument believers put to us, "what if you're wrong?" I can safely assume that there are some that only believe just in case! If it were in the list it might look more like "just in case not believing is wrong"

[Atheon]

I knew someone who went to the Mormon Temple so she could learn English at the free language classes they offered and practice English with all those handsome missionaries. She ended up being convinced that Mormonism is the One True Truth. She was a sweet, wonderful young lady who ended up marrying some right-wing, men-rule-the-household Mor(m)on who kept her isolated from all non-Mormon society, and she ended up pretty much housebound taking care of their kids. I never heard from her again since she got married; her friends filled me in on the rest, but even they lost contact with her. Sad.

So her motivation for looking into it was language learning. Then she got brainwashed.

[hrdlr110]

I have only 3 reasons at this point in my life.

1 - Because I actually believe its true.
2 - A deep sense of my own guilt, knowing that I'm a sinner.
3 - A subjective and personal sense of God's presence, protection, and even guiding hand in my life.

I think an older reason would have been socialization, in that my parents were the ones that first led to me Christ at the age of 3 years old.  And of course, my parents generally took care of me and looked out for my welfare.  They spent their lives trying to help me make wise decisions before I was in the position of being wise.  Given that, I felt that the faith that they shared with me could be trusted because they could be trusted.

That reason changed upon my entry into college.  I began a serious study of my faith to determine if it were truly, mostly because I was having genuine misgivings regarding original sin, the existence of evil, reliability of ancient documents, etc...  Given that, I ceased to be a Christian merely on the basis of my parents having been Christians and sharing that faith with me.

The other 7 reasons you've listed have never really occurred to me at all personally, though I do see them cited fairly often.

Can we leave out child abuse/indoctrination? This might be number one on the list. Nobody realizes better than the church that you must get them while they are young. They have that in common with pedophiles! In such cases the believer rarely, or not until much later, considers non-belief because it was introduced as truth, by the most significant role model in their young life.

[Atheon]

These can be divided into broader categories:

A: Fear

1--Fear of death (with a hope for an afterlife).
1a--Fear of hell or divine retribution

B: Social influence

2--Socialization - growing up in a family or community in which a certain religion is simply the normal order of the day.
2a--Indoctrination/brainwashing
3--Tradition

C: Seeking answers

4--Searching for solutions to problems.
4a--Seeking answers to questions.
6--Searching for purpose and/or meaning in life.

D: Need for order, stability or peace of mind

5--Comfort and assurance.
5a--Solace or forgiveness for feelings of guilt.
7--A person feels it provides a set of morals and a value system.
8--Lack of responsibility; a lot of people do not take responsibility for their actions and choices and the world they create around them.  They look for something to blame and something to send their problems to.

The next one seems a combination of C and D:

9.  Know/control the unknowable.

E: Pragmatism

10--Joining a religion, claiming to be religious, or starting a cult for purposes of political or financial gain
10a--Using religion as an excuse for bigotry, tax evasion, murder or other antisocial behaviors
10b--using religion as an excuse to consume drugs
11--Joining a religion to protect oneself from harm, persecution, imprisonment, torture or death.

[Mike Cl]

Pascal's wager might be included. Since it's an argument believers put to us, "what if you're wrong?" I can safely assume that there are some that only believe just in case! If it were in the list it might look more like "just in case not believing is wrong"
[/quote
Yeah, I like that.  That makes sense to me.  I've often been told that or some have asked me that question.  Sure--I'm just covering the bases, just in case.  Couldn't hurt."

[eylul]

If you want to punish yourself while you are breathing, go become religious.

And the point you touch "searching answers" is not what religion does. Religion always confuses people's brain because its already complicated and always give people orders. It means religion make people feel under pressure and the people who live with that way couldnt have their real ideas and couldnt  show their personality.

And yes unfortunately my friends are believer because they need to pray for  something they want. They dont ask why it must be like that. And its easy to pray (wait) for things that you must do. This is the reason why they are believers, i mean in my opinion.

[SkyChief]

I would add 'Social Acceptance' to the list,  or Fear of Stigma which is attached to atheism.

I know for my wife, This would be her primary reason to belong to a organised religion.  If she didn't care what her friends thought of her, Im certain she would not attend the church.

She has told me that (some of) her 'church friends' suggested that she divorce her atheist husband (me).  This used to really piss me off until I realised these "friends" are,  for the most part, less educated, ignorant, and intolerant people. 

I certainly hold no contempt for them, though.   Im at peace knowing I'm a far better person that they could ever hope to be.  Okay,, maybe a little contempt.   

[Unbeliever]

I suppose I could add you #2 reason--guilt about not living up to a set of morals.

I think the religion would come first, before the guilt over sin, since only with the religion is there a concept of "sin" in the first place.

[Unbeliever]

I knew someone who went to the Mormon Temple so she could learn English at the free language classes they offered and practice English with all those handsome missionaries. She ended up being convinced that Mormonism is the One True Truth. She was a sweet, wonderful young lady who ended up marrying some right-wing, men-rule-the-household Mor(m)on who kept her isolated from all non-Mormon society, and she ended up pretty much housebound taking care of their kids. I never heard from her again since she got married; her friends filled me in on the rest, but even they lost contact with her. Sad.

So her motivation for looking into it was language learning. Then she got brainwashed.

I just finished a book called Under the Banner of Heaven about the LDS church and the Mormon fundies that practically hog-tie their women/girls. Men in the FLDS marry 'em young and marry 'em often, keep 'em subdued and ignorant - not unlike Islamic fundies.

They seem to be convinced that certain people are God's chosen prophets - not just the head honcho (a guy named Monson now), but anyone charismatic enough to attract followers. Apparently on occasion these so-called prophets can persuade people to believe things even more absurd than what they already believe, and thereby convince them to commit atrocities.

And there are some 60,000 missionaries out spreading the poison all over the world!