darkwall
Well-known member
OK, first I'm going to elaborate my postion:
I think that life is short and often painful, and anything that helps you through your day is a good thing. However, I also believe that religions should be subject to laws that apply to others. If I told my son that if he was bad and then died he'd be burned alive, his teacher would have words. If I asked you to give millions to my magical friend Dave so he would cure your bunions, I could go to jail.
So, I'm fairly pro-belief, but anti-religion.
However: it seems to me that organised religions have a much better system for dealing with lonely people than others. If you believe in God, you are much less likely to be depressed, not because of any healing powers he might have but because the afterlife is a comforting thought. Statistically, people who believe in God live a year longer for this very reason.
But more than that, churches and other places of worship form communities around them that have no real equivalent in the secular world. I've been doing a documentary on a Christian unlicensed boxer, and going into his church there was a kitchen, a meeting room where old people could go all hours of the day, a reading room, as well as the actual church. All of the Christians at my uni just have to turn up to the Christian Union meetings to make friends, and my mum is the same with her Liberal Synagogue lot.
So I'm interested: with theists estimated at 90%, how many people on the forums believe in God? Because if the stats are true, it should be well over 1 out of 10. My hypothesis is that this is because:
1. The feeling of one's actions having meaning.
2. The illusion that someone is protecting you.
3. Decreased anxiety about death due to belief in heaven.
4. A system of directives conducive to a state of well-being.
5. Communal support and shared activities/interests.
Has religion helped your depression? Or has religious guilt ever worsened your mood? How big a part does belief in God play in someone's life and their welfare?
I think that life is short and often painful, and anything that helps you through your day is a good thing. However, I also believe that religions should be subject to laws that apply to others. If I told my son that if he was bad and then died he'd be burned alive, his teacher would have words. If I asked you to give millions to my magical friend Dave so he would cure your bunions, I could go to jail.
So, I'm fairly pro-belief, but anti-religion.
However: it seems to me that organised religions have a much better system for dealing with lonely people than others. If you believe in God, you are much less likely to be depressed, not because of any healing powers he might have but because the afterlife is a comforting thought. Statistically, people who believe in God live a year longer for this very reason.
But more than that, churches and other places of worship form communities around them that have no real equivalent in the secular world. I've been doing a documentary on a Christian unlicensed boxer, and going into his church there was a kitchen, a meeting room where old people could go all hours of the day, a reading room, as well as the actual church. All of the Christians at my uni just have to turn up to the Christian Union meetings to make friends, and my mum is the same with her Liberal Synagogue lot.
So I'm interested: with theists estimated at 90%, how many people on the forums believe in God? Because if the stats are true, it should be well over 1 out of 10. My hypothesis is that this is because:
1. The feeling of one's actions having meaning.
2. The illusion that someone is protecting you.
3. Decreased anxiety about death due to belief in heaven.
4. A system of directives conducive to a state of well-being.
5. Communal support and shared activities/interests.
Has religion helped your depression? Or has religious guilt ever worsened your mood? How big a part does belief in God play in someone's life and their welfare?