I have yet to find a decent refutation of the argument that the religion people follow is aligned to their geographic location. For example, a devout Catholic in Africa may have been born into a Muslim family in the middle east. I wouldn't bet on them becoming Catholic. Anyone got any or is it just a good point? heh
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I think it's not so much geographic location as culture. I was born into and raised by a white, British, Christian family because that;s what they were. Had I been born to a Zoroastrian couple I would have been raised with Zoroastrian beliefs and so on. What I choose to believe as an adult is totally different and in my case has come from investigation and critical thinking.
ipdg77
Level 8
Feb 10, 2018
1
Agreed, I should maybe have said 'and all that that implies' hehe.
Is it a causal relation or coincidental relation? I'd suggest that while it may look to be geographic, that is in fact only a coincidence. The actual cause is, and remains, parental belief & teaching.. in my opinion.
Dick_Martin
Level 7
Feb 9, 2018
1
I subscribe to Richard Dawkins view that religion is a mind virus. The closer and more prolonged your exposure, the greater your risk of infection. Some mind viruses are quite benign such as wearing a baseball cap backwards or hula hoops. Some more dangerous like nazism. Even medial science is not immune. In the UK about 24% of mental heath problems are diagnosed as cannabis related. In the Netherlands 0% Sure there people that switch or join another religion but often this because of close proximity to a new source, Graham Greene to catholicism in the 30s at Cambridge, Mohamed Ali to black Islam in the 60s, Cat Stevens etc. Cults are the exception as they seem most successful at targeting college kids. Their intelligence helps them reject their parents religion, whilst their youth makes them vulnerable.
273kelvin
Level 8
Feb 9, 2018
1
I'm not crazy about the argument, the strong point it brings out is that it reinforces the idea that religion is a learned trait rather than something inherent to all humanity.
The global religions argument is better suited as a point that humanity can't settle on one truth, but each god/deity is cultural and tied to that regions history.
The problem is most xians I talk to disregard any religions out of hand, they simply aren't even considered.
slayer1am
Level 5
Feb 9, 2018
1
@icolan not religion per se, but belief in an unseen world, inhabited by beings without bodies, seems to be a baseline condition of the human brain. It can be overcome by education and experience, just as dualistic thinking can be, but many (most?) people don't bother. In the book Inside the Neolithic Mind, the authors make a good case for primitive humans believing themselves to be at the mercy of unseen, usually personified forces. In our earlier, "uncivilised" state, "spirituality" was a given, but religion, with its rules, beliefs, punishments, dogmas, etc. is an artefact of the civilised mind.
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