Here are the results of a recent survey of posters to the Religion forum. The survey asked posters why they do or do not believe in God. There were 17 responses from theists, 41 replies from atheists/agnostics, and 37 responses to the question asking why people other than the respondent believe in God.
Theists' stated reasons for believing in God
Options in the <b>rational</b> category were:
The universe is so perfect/complex, it must have been designed by God.
Without God, there would be no morality.
God's plan is visible in the world.
God answers my prayers.
I experience God everywhere in my daily life.
Options in the <b>emotional</b> category were:
God is needed to explain good and fight evil in the world.
Everybody needs to believe in something.
My life would be meaningless without God.
I am afraid of death/the unknown. God gives me comfort.
Options in the <b>authority-based</b> category were:
I was raised to believe in God.
The bible/Qu'ran/other text tells me God exists.
54% of responses fell into the rational category.
12% were in the emotional category.
6% were in the autority-based category.
Of the 29% "other" responses, I think it is fair to say that four out of five fall roughly into the rational category, and 1 out of 5 is an emotional response, making the overall statistics:
78% rational
18% emotional
6% authority-based.
(Note: the figures here and elsewhere do not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.)
Atheists' and agnostics' stated reasons for not believing in God
Rational:
God is just a substitute for saying "I don't know".
God is just a means of social control.
There is no proof that God exists.
There is too much evil in the world for a God to exist.
Emotional:
Religion causes wars and is bad for society.
God is just a figment of our imagination.
It is absurd to believe in God.
There is no need to believe in God.
46% of responses fell into the rational category.
41% of responses fell into the emotional category.
5% of responses were the true agnostic position: God is unknowable.
10% of responses fell into the "other" category. I estimate a 50-50 split between rational and emotional responses in this category, giving total statistics of:
51% of responses in the rational category.
46% of responses in the emotional category.
5% of responses in the true agnostic category.
Why other people believe in God
Both theists and atheists were asked why they thought other people believe in God.
Using the same classification as for theists responses (above), there results here were:
Rational: 6%
Emotional: 43%
Authority-based: 43%
Other: 8%
What can we take away from this survey? Well, here are some of my thoughts. I invite you all to comment, too.
First, I think it is interesting that most theists give rational reasons for their belief in God. Their beliefs, on the whole, are based in personal experience of their God, or in logical inference from the perceived order of the universe and/or life. The most common response to the poll (by a small margin) was that theists believe because of the apparent design of the universe. They look out at the beauty of the world and conclude that a God must be responsible. The second most common response is that they feel the direct influence of God in their lives.
In is interesting to contrast these responses with the common portrayal of theists by non-believers. Very often, atheists (in particular) label theists as weak-willed people who believe in fairy tales for purely emotional reasons. Alternatively, theists are often labelled as blind followers of authority, who never ask their own questions about the meaning of life.
I think the results show that this is not true. In general, theists <b>do</b> think about the big questions and come to logical conclusions based on their own thinking, rather than on authority handed down to them. I would encourage atheists on this forum to take note.
Turning to the atheists themselves, we find another somewhat surprising result - that atheists are perhaps not as supremely rational as they would have us believe. It seems that many of the atheists responses on this forum, at least, are emotional rather than rational. They are not based purely on available evidence, but rather on a reaction against the idea of God. There may be many reasons for this. People can react against a religious upbringing, or point to the perceived ills that religion causes in the world.
More worrying from the atheists is the number of people who dismiss the possibility of God on emotional grounds, without really considering why they are doing so. They label the religious as less intelligent, or authority driven, or simply mad, with no good justification. This seems to be largely a knee-jerk response against people who take an opposing view. Perhaps these people should consider the real reasons why they so despise the religious.
Finally, we come to the perception that we all have of other people. Here we see a very interesting psychological tendency. People tend to attribute their own motives and actions to rational choices, carefully thought out and backed by good arguments. But when it comes to evaluating the reasons that <b>other</b> people make certain choices, it is a common human failing to assume that other people are driven almost exclusively by emotion or authority.
Notice that in the theists poll, theists themselves overwhelmingly gave rational reasons for their own beliefs. Yet when they were asked why other people believed, presumably they did not put down the same reasons as for their own beliefs. Instead, they thought that other people believe just because they were brought up that way. In fact, putting all results together, 86% of all respondents think that other people believe in God for either emotional reasons or because somebody else told them to, with the split being 50-50 for each option.
What does all this tell us? I think it is a warning to us that we should be careful of our tendency to assume that other people are not just as rational as we are. We should all consider the possibility that other people have good reasons for their believes, which may just make some sense, even if we do not share those beliefs ourselves.
So, I end by calling for just a little more tolerance on this forum. To the theists I say: look at the other point of view. By all means, say where you find it wanting, but also recognise where the atheists have a point. To the atheists and agnostics: do not lightly dismiss the religious beliefs of the theists. They are not unconsidered or irrational. You may argue the conclusion, but try to have good reasons for your arguments, rather than merely labelling believers in the hope that you won't have to actually challenge their views.
Theists' stated reasons for believing in God
The poll options can be divided into three broad categories, namely <b>rational</b> reasons for belief, <b>emotional</b> reasons for belief, and <b>authority-based</b> belief.The universe is so perfect/complex, it must have been designed by God. (24%)
I experience God everywhere in my daily life. (18%)
God's plan is visible in the world. (6%)
I was raised to believe in God. (6%)
God answers my prayers. (6%)
Everybody needs to believe in something. (6%)
I am afraid of death/the unknown. God gives me comfort. (6%)
Other... (29%)
Options in the <b>rational</b> category were:
The universe is so perfect/complex, it must have been designed by God.
Without God, there would be no morality.
God's plan is visible in the world.
God answers my prayers.
I experience God everywhere in my daily life.
Options in the <b>emotional</b> category were:
God is needed to explain good and fight evil in the world.
Everybody needs to believe in something.
My life would be meaningless without God.
I am afraid of death/the unknown. God gives me comfort.
Options in the <b>authority-based</b> category were:
I was raised to believe in God.
The bible/Qu'ran/other text tells me God exists.
54% of responses fell into the rational category.
12% were in the emotional category.
6% were in the autority-based category.
Of the 29% "other" responses, I think it is fair to say that four out of five fall roughly into the rational category, and 1 out of 5 is an emotional response, making the overall statistics:
78% rational
18% emotional
6% authority-based.
(Note: the figures here and elsewhere do not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding.)
Atheists' and agnostics' stated reasons for not believing in God
We can divide these responses into two groups, too: <b>rational</b> and <b>emotional</b> reasons for disbelief.There is no proof that God exists. (29%)
There is no need to believe in God. (17%)
God is just a means of social control. (12%)
God is just a figment of our imagination. (12%)
It is absurd to believe in God. (12%)
God is just a substitute for saying "I don't know". (5%)
God is unknowable. (5%)
other... (10%)
Rational:
God is just a substitute for saying "I don't know".
God is just a means of social control.
There is no proof that God exists.
There is too much evil in the world for a God to exist.
Emotional:
Religion causes wars and is bad for society.
God is just a figment of our imagination.
It is absurd to believe in God.
There is no need to believe in God.
46% of responses fell into the rational category.
41% of responses fell into the emotional category.
5% of responses were the true agnostic position: God is unknowable.
10% of responses fell into the "other" category. I estimate a 50-50 split between rational and emotional responses in this category, giving total statistics of:
51% of responses in the rational category.
46% of responses in the emotional category.
5% of responses in the true agnostic category.
Why other people believe in God
Both theists and atheists were asked why they thought other people believe in God.
They were raised to believe in God. (43%)
They are afraid of death/the unknown. (24%)
God gives meaning to their lives. (11%)
Everybody needs to believe in something. (5%)
They think God is needed to explain good and fight evil in the world. (3%)
God answers their prayers. (3%)
They experience God everywhere in their daily lives. (3%)
Other... (8%)
Using the same classification as for theists responses (above), there results here were:
Rational: 6%
Emotional: 43%
Authority-based: 43%
Other: 8%
<b>Summary of results</b>
Theists' own descriptions of why they beleive in God:
78% rational
18% emotional
6% authority-based.
Atheists' own descriptions of why they do not believe:
51% rational.
46% emotional.
5% true agnostic.
General descriptions of why others believe:
Rational: 6%
Emotional: 43%
Authority-based: 43%
Other: 8%
What can we take away from this survey? Well, here are some of my thoughts. I invite you all to comment, too.
First, I think it is interesting that most theists give rational reasons for their belief in God. Their beliefs, on the whole, are based in personal experience of their God, or in logical inference from the perceived order of the universe and/or life. The most common response to the poll (by a small margin) was that theists believe because of the apparent design of the universe. They look out at the beauty of the world and conclude that a God must be responsible. The second most common response is that they feel the direct influence of God in their lives.
In is interesting to contrast these responses with the common portrayal of theists by non-believers. Very often, atheists (in particular) label theists as weak-willed people who believe in fairy tales for purely emotional reasons. Alternatively, theists are often labelled as blind followers of authority, who never ask their own questions about the meaning of life.
I think the results show that this is not true. In general, theists <b>do</b> think about the big questions and come to logical conclusions based on their own thinking, rather than on authority handed down to them. I would encourage atheists on this forum to take note.
Turning to the atheists themselves, we find another somewhat surprising result - that atheists are perhaps not as supremely rational as they would have us believe. It seems that many of the atheists responses on this forum, at least, are emotional rather than rational. They are not based purely on available evidence, but rather on a reaction against the idea of God. There may be many reasons for this. People can react against a religious upbringing, or point to the perceived ills that religion causes in the world.
More worrying from the atheists is the number of people who dismiss the possibility of God on emotional grounds, without really considering why they are doing so. They label the religious as less intelligent, or authority driven, or simply mad, with no good justification. This seems to be largely a knee-jerk response against people who take an opposing view. Perhaps these people should consider the real reasons why they so despise the religious.
Finally, we come to the perception that we all have of other people. Here we see a very interesting psychological tendency. People tend to attribute their own motives and actions to rational choices, carefully thought out and backed by good arguments. But when it comes to evaluating the reasons that <b>other</b> people make certain choices, it is a common human failing to assume that other people are driven almost exclusively by emotion or authority.
Notice that in the theists poll, theists themselves overwhelmingly gave rational reasons for their own beliefs. Yet when they were asked why other people believed, presumably they did not put down the same reasons as for their own beliefs. Instead, they thought that other people believe just because they were brought up that way. In fact, putting all results together, 86% of all respondents think that other people believe in God for either emotional reasons or because somebody else told them to, with the split being 50-50 for each option.
What does all this tell us? I think it is a warning to us that we should be careful of our tendency to assume that other people are not just as rational as we are. We should all consider the possibility that other people have good reasons for their believes, which may just make some sense, even if we do not share those beliefs ourselves.
So, I end by calling for just a little more tolerance on this forum. To the theists I say: look at the other point of view. By all means, say where you find it wanting, but also recognise where the atheists have a point. To the atheists and agnostics: do not lightly dismiss the religious beliefs of the theists. They are not unconsidered or irrational. You may argue the conclusion, but try to have good reasons for your arguments, rather than merely labelling believers in the hope that you won't have to actually challenge their views.