Humans Hardwired to Believe in Supernatural Deity?

dohcrx writes "According to a Sunday New York Times article, 6 in 10 Americans believe in the devil and hell, 7 in 10 believe in angels, heaven and the existence of miracles and life after death, while 92% believe in a personal God. The article explores the possibility that this belief structure may be ingrained into our genetic makeup. 'When a trait is universal, evolutionary biologists look for a genetic explanation and wonder how that gene or genes might enhance survival or reproductive success ... Which is the better biological explanation for a belief in God — evolutionary adaptation or neurological accident? Is there something about the cognitive functioning of humans that makes us receptive to belief in a supernatural deity?'"

Comments

Mutant?

[pete-classic]

So, you're telling me that I'm a mutant?

-Peter

Re:Logically

[CRCulver]

Lost me there. Just because there is something (the universe, I presume you mean) doesn't necessarily mean that there must be something which knows it completely. Try again.

Clearly you haven't heard of the ontological argument, which has enjoyed a great resurgeance of popularity in the last 25 years.

Re:Logically

[FuMoDi]

Lost me there No kidding.

Just because there is something...doesn't necessarily mean that there must be something which knows it completely Know thyself. The universe knows itself completely.

Try again You lost.

Re:Hmm, so...

[I(rispee_I(reme]

It seems that men who had Someone to pray to, something to hope for, gained a psychological edge that could mean the difference between life and death under extreme conditions.

Plus, they had the benefit of sharing in any rations stolen from those hellbound atheists. Limpwristed heathens!

Re:Hmm, so...

[Mattsson]

"Wait, you mean religion might confer some survival advantage? And it's so widespread that..."

Not strange at all.
Those with a tendency towards believing in deities falls under control of a "priest", who commands them to kill those who do not, since they are "non believers".
Then the priest starts saying that it's their duty to their "god" to have lots of children.
Fast forward a few hundred years and the genetic predisposition towards believing in deities will be on overwhelming majority.

The universe is everything

[FuMoDi]

And so is God.

Easy

[HomelessInLaJolla]

You're baggin' on the homeless guy because you are a pathetic piece of turtle dung.

Re:Would this disprove either [a]theism?

[bonefry]

Evolution is not a proven fact ... and that's a fact ;)

There are things in the fabric of this universe that we as human beings will never be able to understand.
There's no theory, proven or not, that can explain how this universe was created ... and we will never have one.
And that's a proven fact ;)

Being an atheist is as implausible as being a Christian.
But you just keep believing otherwise, I don't care.

Re:there is No god

[young-earth]

To answer your question:

I am not a believer, and I doubt you will be able to convince me otherwise. However I have one question for believers in a higher power or higher powers:

When you look to other religions and say "that's ridiculous" at the idea of a wine god or a god with the head of an elephant or spirits and ferries or Zeus or Thor wielding his hammer, have you ever considered one thing.... is your religion any less ridiculous????

I'm a believer, and the fact is of the "holy" books out there, only one has fulfilled prophecy, archeology, and other facts to prove it. Only a Creator outside our time-frame construct could tell the future from the beginning; the Bible has shown this time and again. Other groups, like let's pick the Mormons, claim prophecy from Joseph Smith. One of their favorites is that he predicted the Civil War would start in South Carolina. Thing is, if you investigate, the weekend before he issued that prediction, there was an editorial in the Sunday paper in the town a few miles from his settlement at the time which said exactly that. To those at the time, South Carolina was the state full of firebrands, and it was pretty obvious to everyone that would be the starting point.

And on the other hand, there are a number of failed prophecies by him as well (like Mormons would not have to cook).

Bottom line: only one book contains totally accurate predictions, that's why I believe and why I see others as having flawed and provably false beliefs.

Flame retardant suit on, there are probably some Mormons out there who want to spin Joe's failed prophecies.

Re:It can't be just the genes

[aristotle-dude]

You are who you are based on the total sum of your experiences. Somewhere along the line, you met up with some people who you allowed to take away your innocence and sense of wonder. What caused this fall? Was it pride? Did you find the concept of a loving God that was looking out for you offensive? Were you so full of pride of your own abilities that you believed that you could go out on your own without God in your life? Maybe your life is going so well that you do not see the need for god? Not that I would wish anything bad on anyone but sometimes an easy life can be a curse leading to pride, haughtiness and complacency. Sometimes a proud man has to hit rock bottom before they are able to re-examine their life and values to realize that they are not god themselves and they are not capable of doing anything and everything themselves.

Hardwired or not, you still have free will.