"But wait, you might say, religious people claim their beliefs are true. The problem is that, as Dennett says, the social utility of the act of professing these beliefs far outweighs the truth value of the beliefs."
"It seems to me that this is correct, and it also pulls the plug on the majority of what passes for dialogue between believers an atheists in our day and age. After all, if we can’t take religious claims at face value, then whether they’re literally true or not is totally beside the point. People profess belief in them for completely different reasons than they profess belief that the Sun will rise in the morning, or that chimps and humans share a common ancestor, reasons that make the content of the beliefs themselves irrelevant."
Read more at [patheos.com]
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.People are afraid of being shunned by close family and friends if they come out with any doubts. I have heard of private groups of clergy that no longer believe but feel trapped. These folks have no known safety nets. No reasonable safe action or at least none they're aware of. I believe it is going to take a tremendous shift to change people's reactions.
Angelface
Level 7
Apr 19, 2018
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To be honest this post is above the heads of many people. i have discovered that most of the religious are what they are because that is the way they were brought up. They have never questioned their beliefs and go through life in this manner. Tradition plays a big role in their lives and they have never been placed in a position to question what they practice. Since many live in this mythical world supported by the people of like beliefs when a public challenge like the nativity scene on public property occurs no thought is given to the religious aspect rather it is an attack on what they believe already and that must be wrong.Until we can get people to actually review the content of what they believe from a neutral state they will not be able to see how rediculas these beliefs are.
Marine
Level 8
Apr 19, 2018
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