Quote:
Originally Posted by Shap
Hey Mitch!
I remember Beth telling me she had a psychology class that was devoted to the belief of religion and examining those who do and those who don't believe in it. And from a psychological standpoint those who believe in some sort of God benefit more than those who don't. The belief in the possibility of their being a greater force is more powerful psychologically than not believing in anything.
I always think of Holyfield. I don't think he was necessarily the best fighter when he was champ but he always seemed to believe that God was behind him and he seemed almost blinded by that belief.
Also, when I lived in the Bahamas I saw first hand how important it is to society to have religion. It was the first time I witnessed why it is necessary to have poor people believe in a higher power. Religion gives extremely poor people a reason to be good people. The people we saw were so poor they lived in tents and had absolutely nothing and yet spent their days working on million dollar homes doing shit work with no food and just a jug of water in the blazing Bahamas heat. I strongly believe religion is what kept those people from stealing as much as they could from their clients. Jail isn't enough of a deterrent when you have absolutely nothing.
|
You are right on track. People simply don't understand the purpose and motives of religion and that our brains are wired for religion. Monotheistic religions evolved along with the transition to sedentary lifestyles, our gathering into larger and larger groups and large cities and provide the moral law and basic codes of conduct, cleanliness, handling of bodies, of food and so on that allowed people to live together in larger and larger societies. IT IS THE factor which allowed us to live in ever increasingly large cooperative cities.
And with respect to crime and religion, you are again exactly correct. People are far less likely to act out, when they are bound to religion/religious beliefs and the idea that they will be judged in the end or are being watched all the time or are violating a strong code that the entire group holds dear. Many many many cultures throughout time have put a god and a temple at the center of shared resources with no other law (irrigation to farms from a shared and limited water source for example) and people generally do not take advantage, hence the institution of religion as an effective management tool over law and punishment.
Groups that are not bound by religious beliefs live an infinitely shorter life than those which are. This is very well studied and particularly evident in cults which typically have a shorter lifespan than other organized communities or groups or larger societies.