It’s much easier to have everything mapped out in a prescribed manner for you than having to think it out for yourself. The majority of people find it extremely comforting to follow the rules of religion which they generally learn from their parents at an early age, and it takes a strong mind to question it. It takes personal courage for those who go against the perceived wisdom of family and community and step outside “the tent”, and risk ostracism. Religions use indoctrination as a tool to control, yes, but they do it in such a way that those who are indoctrinated don’t realise that they are, believing it to be truth. Religions portray atheism, or a lack of belief in any religion, to be an aberration from the norm, and that is why we are sometimes regarded with hostility and suspicion by believers.

People seem to like being brainwashed? If they knew they were being brainwashed they wouldn't actually be brainwashed.

g

"The question is why are the majority of people the slaves to this kind of thinking"
INDOCTRINATION

I call this the "lens of faith", once applied your worldview is through that lens of faith. Afterwards anything you experience is interpreted by you through that lens. Get a new Job God blessed you, lose a Job God has other plans for you, gain a child God has blessed you, lose a Child God has some unknown unknowable plan for that Child.

To me one of the worst aspects of religion is childhood indoctrination. Like most of my generation was raised, believing by default because all the authorities of your childhood do.

This is akin to gluing that lens to the eye itself, like those raised in abuse see that as normative until they see others who do not live that way.

Non abuse seems abnormal to such folks, so too does non religion seem abnormal to these people.

Some of us with strong critical thinking skills free ourselves, sometimes this takes decades because the indoctrination makes you blind to the lens of faith you're wearing. You do not see how irrational your belief is, it seems quite valid to you when your wearing the lens.

Because it saves the effort of having to think things though for yourself. Laziness is the second greatest force in human life and history after boredom.

Humans evolved as "herd animals" which instinctually gathered in groups for safety. We are still animals and subject to our animal instincts. Many people still feel a need to belong to a group and only feel safe and secure if they do. The one positive thing religion provides is a sense of belonging, which satisfies the animal instincts to belong to a group. The problem is that instincts do not involve a rational thinking process. They (instincts) worked great for our ancestors out in the bush to help us survive, but in modern society they hold us back. Our technology has progressed much faster than our ability to adapt (instinctually) to it.

Nobody ever went broke overestimating how stupid people can be especially in large groups.

Think of religions as fan clubs or societies--something like being a loyal fan of your favorite sports team or a member of the Kiwanis, Rotary or Lions club. One wonders if the majority of Americans are more passionate about their favorite team on any given Sunday than they are about going to church and paying their dues in the pews.

We are fortunate that the establishment of the United States was drawn largely along religious lines with Quakers, Catholics, Puritans, Lutherans, Baptists, Anglicans, and so on, all vying for a seat at the table. And so in order to protect the rights of each, two of the most critical political compromises in history were made: the first was to draft the Establishment Clause to the First Amendment, and the second was the decision to leave any mention of the term "god" out of our Constitution.

Desperation,no hope looking for anything for comfort

The funny thing is men and women have known it is BS for centuries but the masses still fall for it. I now think it is not the religion that really did it. If there was no religion, the men and women with vulnerable minds and voids in life would have found something else.

Reminds me of my beloved late sister. Very talented since elementary school. Multiple gold medalist, double Ph.D in foreign lands, wrote 14 books, spoke 7 languages, traveled to 23 countries, taught for 30 years but deeply religious, 330 million Gods were not enough,, so she started pursuing Russian and Latin American saints. Parents and siblings were Agnostic. Don't know where she got it. I am not sure if it was the religion that gripped her. If it was not religion, she would have followed a medicine man in the Amazon. Very strange.

That's why they refer to themselves as "sheep" needing a shepherd.

Why are they "slaves" to this kind of thinking?
I think of the Jefferson Bible, excised of all superfluidities to include only the distilled words of whoever wrote them-- possibly Josephus himself, almost certainly not a human being called 'Jesus...'
Some of it's good stuff, one must admit if critical thinking is momentarily set aside.
Forget 'Paul' for a second, and the 'Epistles' by scoundrel dogs who twisted and warped them to suit their agendas. And the countless con artists and interpreters like Augustine, who froze them into a dogma.
The core 'sayings' are pretty cool!
Inspiring, even.
If people are "slaves," or alternately "sheep," it is to their inner desire to 'do the right thing' and 'be good people' at peace with themselves.
Whatever religion you're talking about--Hindu, Christian, even Muslim--it's that core impulse which compels them to collective action.
What alternatives do they have?
That fundamentally decent desire is corrupted by those who use their charismatic skills to sway others, and
who themselves are taught from the cradle these lies.
Worse, in their own minds they BECOME 'Jesus,' encouraged by the unconditional, unquestioning approval of his or her listeners.
By continual repetition of these sanctioned, 'sacred' words, these men and women--past and present--feed in themselves an unquenchable egomania. THEIR own words become in their own minds 'sacred' and unquestionable.
Despite the fact these people are of course flawed, with their own
prejudices,
misconceptions,
blind spots, and
mental, psychological, and emotional shortcomings.
Some, to be sure, deliberately manipulate, but I think mostly they believe their own erroneous thinking.
So, something inherently 'good' is channeled in a necessarily 'bad' direction, because those in positions of authority are not 'saints,' but very, very, unavoidably, human themselves.

Answer: such people are slaves to that kind of thinking because they have been brainwashed by other such slaves. The idea that they could have been told lies is beyond them.

If you have ever felt a strong emotion, perhaps from a stirring piece of music, just that can be incredibly uplifting & seductive. They get a "high" like that at least several times a day from their religious feelings. To try & reduce it to dry intellectual stuff is just futile, never gonna happen.

‘Always’ is a bit sweeping. I assume you have evidence to support or is this an opinion?

Just take a look at the rest of western civilized society. They have gotten ridden of such baggage. Although i am from the USA, are we to stupid to drop the nonsense? Everyone loves to say USA #1! No.1 at what? Once upon a time we were, but no longer. Hell the last thing we was no.1 at was obesity and we lost that to Mexico a few years ago! So until we take this government back, we are the ass end of most countries jokes. Something needs to be done and I have a plan.

In my way of thinking of the three Abrahamic religions,Christianity is the worst.Being a former Catholic I may be prejudice for the one I know the best.The Chistians seem to be still fighting the crusades particularity in the middleeast. Your soldiers for Christ huddled in prayer before going on a killing rampage.The uncountable witch burnings,the spannish inquistions child rapist,up to the recent past with bogus preachers,faith healers,homophobic haters on and on the nefarious practices of so called holy people.On the otherhand there are those who I call true followers Jesus teachings,my mom and others RIP.Anyway thinking about it all there is so much doctrine that is illogical such as original sin to all the jewish fairy tales talking snakes and such, science denial,praying for the rapture,72 Virgins.As I signoff here I want to explain my user name ( they were tripping ) hallucinatory plants have been used knowing and not knowing thoughout human history.Think that those in a dream or so called enlighed state of mind misinterpret their thoughts and visions as divine or mystical.therefore religion was dreamed up by people not aware theywereripping

Brainwashing since childhood.

I think it's because, ultimately(indoctrination aside), people want to feel special. They want to believe that there is more to their existence than the very small probability that they should exist at all. They want to believe there is a reason or purpose for them being here. And they want that purpose prescribed to them, instead of creating that purpose for themselves. Also I think it makes them feel good to be besties with the "creator of the universe."

Yeah, the whole "god is testing us" thing is insane. I've never found that to be moral. You would think anyone that reads about god and satan ruining Job's life because they have a bet going about his faith, would turn away and wonder wtf is happening here. But no, they only use it to reinforce their own. They think because he is the "almighty creator", he can do what he wants and it's moral; but that just isn't true. There are many other moments that I would disagree with god's "morality", but I've rambled on enough. At the end of it all, I really don't know why they think this way.

Many simply don't want to know. Try asking people this. "If you held a god or spiritual belief that you thought was benifitial, would you want to know if it wasn't true?"
I hope you are surprised as I was to find how many told me they would not want to know the truth.

Many are indoctrinated as I was as a child and really did think it was all true. That Saran made things look like there was not great flood etc. so thst we would doubt and get taken by Satan.

Because you are indoctrinated on some religion or supernatural since you are a child.
Religion becomes part of your identity, part of who you are, most of people would rather loose their citizenship over religion.

It is difficult to abandon some pillar of your identity, it generates emotional responses because it is in the definition of your "self".

So talking against religion won't trigger reasoning on people, will trigger self preservation, and self preservation is above all logic. It needs a lot of study and training to be able to control self preservation instincts.

every interaction with religious people that triggers this self preservation, all the discussion and logic are irrelevant past that point. That is why the confront, name calling and being aggressive can be justified, can be you venting or even being logical against religion, but is useless to convince the person.

The only way to show that religion is bullshit is to be able to communicate ideas without triggering the self preservation instinct, and let the person conclude it by itself. Neil deGrasse Tyson is amazing in doing this for example.

First you build an alternative identity that does not need religion, then the person will be able to leave part of their identity for some new one that works better.

Maybe, they feel like they need something to hold on to! They would be adrift, if not for their religion! You see people carrying a bible in their cars, sometimes on their person...they must need something to hold on to?

Right on . You are 100% correct . Although I do believe some people do believe in the beginning , there are many in high positions who lost their beliefs along the way , but continue to preach the gospels because it makes then rich , and powerful .

Religion... pure and faultless is this: to help widows and orphans in need and avoiding worldly corruption. James 1:27

How is helping widows and orphans why avoiding worldly corruption a way to control people?

OR, why are you using the word "religion " to label something other than helping widows and orphans while avoiding worldly corruption?

Do you not have a belief that widows and orphans should be helped?