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Originally Posted by [db]
That doesn't hold up. Yes people believe in religion because parents tell us it's true. But if we were all intelligent, no one would believe it. No parents would tell their kids about their imaginary friend who's blood we drink, etc. If we weren't stupid and weak, there never would have been a need for it.
Humans have religion because we know that we are all going to die, and we are too weak to accept it. So, we basically convince ourselves that we're immortal through the idea of religion; whether it be heaven, re-incarnation, etc. It's because we're all cowards who can't accept death.
I really don't believe that anyone truly believes in religion. Anyone, even the pope. Everyone knows it's man-made bullshit. They just convinced themselves they believe it because they're too weak to face reality.
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You are assuming intelligence is pure when we are born. That if we were raised in an Amish land with no communication with the outside world, we would automatically assume everything was bullshit if we were intelligent. Our brains are sponges, we soak in information. Intelligent people can process that information better and faster, but are still at the mercy of the information they are fed (many times at a young age).
Through millions of years of natural selection, we were built to be a sponge as a child and listen to what our parents tell us at a young age. If they tell us not to talk to strangers, we don't. Those who didn't soak in the information or trust their elders would die, and thus be weeded out of the process over time. Unfortunately religion got mixed into this, and MOST religous people were indoctrined at a very young age. Society has accepted religion as second nature, so many kids never question their beliefs as they grow up.
This is what many biologists believe, those who studied evolution and natural selection of human beings.