Greco said:
I was born a greek orthodox, liked the liturgy and attended church often. It fascinated me to watch the theater like atmosphere. As I grew older I start questioning some things and the best answer I got from my priest was "Believe and dont ask". I tried different religions but no one had satisfactory answers to my questions. Finally ended up an agnostic.
But, why so few of us and so many of them? I dont think it's simply smarts maybe there's something that I'm missing.
In response to your question about why so few of "us" and an abundance of them, I'll pose a few hypotheses for your consideration.
First, it appears to me that many theists are taught (perhaps "indoctrinated with" is more accurate) religious beliefs from a young age. When you consider the fundamental facts of the world that you learned as a kid (consider basic arithmetic and science), few tend to question those early teachings, and I suspect that has something to do with the trust and respect for their teachers. For example, when's the last time you questioned
why 9 + 9 = 18 or if you drop your shoe, why it falls "downward"? Chances are good, that unless of you've worked with non-decimal numbering systems, or explored zero-gravity environments, you've had little reason to question these apparent "brute facts" which you likely learned quite early in life.
Second, among those who
do question their religious beliefs one of two things generally happens: either their faith is enhanced, or their skepticism increases. As you mention in your post, you liked the liturgy and theater of your religious experience. And for many, I suspect that's completely sufficient. Thus, there's no need to pause and question the fundamental aspects of their religion. They enjoy the companionship, sense of community and congregation of their religious services with a nary a gripe or question raised. And few churches - if any - open the floor to rebuttals after the sermon is delivered.
Third, since atheism is not an affirmative belief system - as religions are - there is not as much to base continued teaching (or indoctrination, should you prefer that term) upon. Try passing atheism on to your kids and it becomes tough to get past the start line, which is little more than a lack of teaching religious beliefs.
My fourth hypothesis would regard the environmental impact. Had you been raised in Baghdad or Tehran, it's likely that you wouldn't have been born into Greek orthodoxy, but Sunii or Shi'a Muslim environment. And religious conversion rates tend to be pretty low. Basically, this is my first hypothesis reiterated with respect to location. In largely theistic cultures, there's some degree of pressure - however subtle or significant that may be - to conform with the norms of society.
And finally - and with respect to the fact that this is conjecture and hypothesis on my part - I've found that the critical thinking abilities of most folks pretty much sucks. There is a big difference between teachng someone an affirmative position of "God exists" (or "God does not exist") than phrasing it in the interrogative form ("Does God exist?"), and then pressing their critical thinking skills.
Wow... I made it through that without mentioning anything about shrewd marketing tactics, the proverbial carrot and stick, the red phone to Absolute Truth(tm) or posthumous consequences. I'm either getting better at this game or I'm running outta piss and vinegar...
Regards,
mrmufin
