Why is religion still a thing?

[Scarletthoo2]

As the title states, I would like to know why people still choose religion rather than science, please give me your personal view and opinions.

I was christened at birth, but grown up an atheist. I'm just curious to know why so many people still believe in religion and god. Considering there's undeniable evidence that everything on earth is simply made of atoms and particles and wasn't created by an otherworldly person.

Hopefully this doesn't cause offence to some people, like I've said, just simply want others views.

How about we accept quantum flux, multiple universes and multiple beings. Not having a creator god and believing in multiple deities and consciousness in all matter, panpsychism is beautiful!
it gives us freedom and we also respect and are part of this beautiful cosmos.

I'm more than happy to accept the possibility of things. It's the absolutist nature of 'belief thinkers' that I have difficulty with, especially understanding the conclusions they arrive at.

What do you mean “belief thinkers” do you mean people who don’t just think within scientific parameters? I can see that because I find it utterly bizarre when people limit themselves to just one way of viewing the world. I can’t get my head around people who think that everything is objective and measurable given the infinite variations within the universe. The power of the imagination etc. most of all the deep seated understanding of knowing there’s more than just the physical. But experience tells me some people are in tune with it others aren’t. What’s more it’s really unexplainable, you either het it or don’t. It’s just the way it is some people are built for sprinting some people for long distance running.

it’s prob why you can’t understand the conclusions, they just don’t fit in with the way you view the world.

none of those things exclude the existence of a god though

If we look at Nature, the Cosmos we see incredible variety
it's illogical to assume the is only a single god.

I agree it's seems a big attribute of monotheism that there is one and only one correct answer..
My ideas about the universe don't come from a fixed book or rigid set of beliefs. I'll be just fine if you or someone else are sceptical about panpsychism.
This is how it used to be in Classical Greece and Rome; philosophers positing different ideas and fine with science .

So tell me more about panpsychism.

I don't understand this - do you mean one god couldn't possible create/design everything?

Is there one type of person, only one cosmos, only one kind of flower, insect or animal, star or planet?
No; there are planets, countless stars universes and endless different species, so it's against everything we see and know to posit only one god.

I'm interested that you see it that way. I think I would be limiting god if I were to suppose there must be more than one required to do all those things. :)

I think a fair few scientists are interested in the idea of panpsychism or some other kind of universal consciousness.

A lot of it is above my pay scale intellectually though. After reading Wholeness and the Implicate Order by David Bohm I needed a brain 🧠 transplant.

Some more accessible stuff on YouTube. Bernardo Kastrup , Rupert Spira and others.

@OMG12
https://www.britannica.com/topic/panpsychism
I think the link does a good job of clearly explaining.

Thanks so a bit likeThis, the mental universe and as above so below

You are a Priority monist:
"Priority monism states that all existing things go back to a source that is distinct from them; e.g., in Neoplatonism everything is derived from The One.[1] In this view only the One is ontologically basic or prior to everything else"

I'm a substance monist :
"Substance monism asserts that a variety of existing things can be explained in terms of a single reality or substance.[3] Substance monism posits that only one kind of substance exists, although many things may be made up of this substance, e.g., matter or mind."
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monism#:~:text=Monism%20in%20modern%20philosophy%20of,only%20mind%20or%20spirit%20exists.&text=Certain%20positions%20do%20not%20fit,anomalous%20monism%2C%20and%20reflexive%20monism.

What do you mean “belief thinkers” do you mean people who don’t just think within scientific parameters? I can see that because I find it utterly bizarre when people limit themselves to just one way of viewing the world.*
Also, nothing wrong with dreaming, or imagination. Ascribing these things as a reality is perpetuating a delusion which requires irrational belief to be part of. Maybe I'm missing a large chunk of something that allows suspension of the reality I see all around me, in favour of made up stuff.

Imagination plays a great part in spiritual belief, but the way imagination is viewed within those systems is probably different to what you think. Look up Bohme and indeed Blake’s take on imagination as examples. You might be interested in This.

I haven’t seen people who are great scientists being any more moral, loving, community focused, sacrificing themselves for the good of others, committing to others in a journey together for life, or any of the aspects of life that religion touches. Religion is a spirituality codified to it can be passed down the generations. Religion is addressing many human experiences that aren’t scientific in nature, that are more subjective and are about living and loving together, finding meaning and finding ways to live with suffering and still find hope and joy, raising children and what beliefs and values we want to live by.

Science and religion are not necessarily opposed to each other at all. We are Catholic and my husband is a Neurologist (an M.D. specializing in the brain and central nervous system).

It was a Catholic Priest, Georges Lemaître, who came up with the concept of the expanding universe and the Big Bang. He was working as a Physics Professor at a Catholic University and was a theoretical physicist, mathematician and astronomer.

Religion is addressing many human experiences that aren’t scientific in nature, that are more subjective and are about living and loving together, finding meaning and finding ways to live with suffering and still find hope and joy, raising children and what beliefs and values we want to live by.

Yes, but religion is not the only way to do all those things. They can be done, and are done, without faith. The problem with religion is that many of its adherents claim that without religion, these things are not possible. That is arrogance.

Thank you for the link @OMG12 . For me there is no need to seek to understand or use imagination to make sense of the world. There is no need for something more, or other. Existence is as I see it, without the need to invent, imagine, or believe in anything that to me isn't real. That's not to say it will always be so, if I change my view because something happens, it will be because I have experienced something which is real to me. I think this is where there is the most divergence between believers and non.

I think this is very true. At the end of the day it does come down to individual experience, often what is described as a mystical experience, an experience which changes your perception of the world. It can’t be measured it is hard or even impossible to describe. You can read books about it but to most it will appear fanciful, unless it reflects something you experience.

I look at it like this. If you experience the world through your physical senses then the physical world is enough to satisfy those senses. Once another sense has been awakened you have a need to experience what it is that that extra sense is designed to experience otherwise you will feel part of the universe is missing, you can’t just turn off that sense, it is there needing fulfilment. Neither position is better or worse. Just what is meant to be. As it’s said the bible - the Kingdom of God is within you, that makes it different for everyone, but the Bible tells you how to find it if you read it well.

I totally agree, because all those things listed are the earthly, manifest parts of religion. Therefore they can be achieved through many other earthly means. None of those things listed depends on any God.

It looks like the cosmologists will have to reassess their theories:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/james-webb-space-telescope-keeps-053057127.html

I think people like simplicity. The physical world is all there is/ one God like the bible says.
Both sides of a simple coin.

The reality is complexity. Ideas of the universe can change.
I do think scientists need imagination to make new theories just like they did in the classical world. We're part of a beautiful creative universe, with lots of beautiful beings. Let's embrace that; be open to differing ideas, experiences... maybe the gods are at play.

”What is now proved was once only imagined” - Blake

Once another sense has been awakened

Eh? This is what loses me completely, the assumption (or belief if you will) that there are other senses that can be 'discovered'. I'd like to see the evidence for this, it would explain so many differences between believers and non.

But that’s what I’m saying. There is no evidence, science is designed for the material world.this isn’t that. It can’t be measured, only experienced. That’s the only way to get proof, to experience it. It’s a personal thing. For people who have experienced it, it’s enough