I'm pretty convinced that cognitive laziness is the primary force behind the power of religion. It requires a lot less effort to accept as truth, with great certainly, the fairy tales you're fed, than to open up a book and actually use your reasoning powers to comprehend a scientific principle..
Some time before the Vikings, Thor, Odin and their ilk were created because people did not know what caused thunderstorms and other natural events which are now easily explained by science. Today, there is a resurgence of several neo-pagan religions, among people from Norway, Denmark and Iceland who still believe in these gods.
Why do you think they cling to these antediluvian concepts?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.from the many discussions i've had with my best friend who's extremely christian orthodox, its come down to:
indoctrination at a young age, and with that, an insurance policy of not being allowed to question the heavenly authority. These are the two key principal factors that ensure the sheep don't stray from the flock. Every other opinion outside of their own is wrong, no matter the evidence and reasoning.
When presented with science, the xtians typically have their circular defense reply, "science can't exist without god, sooooo there. checkmate atheist."
It's like trying to reason with a child, that doesn't have the cognitive ability or maturity to process critical thinking. It's also embarrassing for them to let go of this thought process because a lot of them have their whole life built up and structured around this indoctrinated belief system.
Perhaps they call "Born Again Christian" because you have to have a child like mind to believe the fairy tales in the bible. And until they 'out grow' that brain and start questioning, really examining things from an outside perspective, they'll never let go.
MacStriker
Level 7
Apr 9, 2023
1
See also presuppositionalism, which gives rise to the sorts of thing that you cite.
It is my experience that such people are incapable understanding, let alone learning from, the concept of logical fallacies: [yourlogicalfallacyis.com]
@anglophone wow, thank you for that link! extremely resourceful
I see it as being much more complex than you postulate. The amygdala can drive a very powerful fear response when anybody is confronted by information that conflicts with their world view; imagine demanding of a Jehovah's Witness that s/he demonstrates the existence of the God of the Bible. There is also increasing evidence that the prefrontal cortex in children becomes significantly damaged when growing up in religious fundamentalist homes, with the result that they lack the intellectual capacity to understand the Scientific Method when they become adults.
anglophone
Level 9
Apr 9, 2023
2
When beliefs are challenged, the individual has two choices... submit to the fear and retreat, or face it.
"The findings suggest that damage to particular areas of the prefrontal cortex indirectly promotes religious fundamentalism by diminishing cognitive flexibility and openness—a psychology term that describes a personality trait which involves dimensions like curiosity, creativity, and open-mindedness."
That diminishing cognitive flexibility is what I was referring to. Did the religious indoctrination cause it?
Or did the brain damage occur as the result of a congenital condition that made them more susceptible to the indoctrination? Are they actually less intelligent? Or less likely to question and research the information that is unsettling to them?
And, by the way, do you know if this study has been replicated?
@TheoryNumber3 I would need to check my sources about replications - and thank you for prodding me! In terms of is it it purely upbringing or purely genetics, my guess for what it is worth is that it is a mixture of both (as usually happens in situations like this), though I have no idea in what proportions. I will see if I can get a handle on that as well.
@TheoryNumber3 Try [encyclopedia.pub] and the two sources it cites at "A link between brain damage and religious fundamentalism has now been established by scientists" (in en). 2019-01-08. [salon.com].
Zhong, Wanting; Cristofori, Irene; Bulbulia, Joseph; Krueger, Frank; Grafman, Jordan (June 2017). "Biological and cognitive underpinnings of religious fundamentalism". Neuropsychologia 100: 18–25. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.04.009. ISSN 1873-3514. PMID 28392301. [pubmedcentral.nih.gov]
While not associated with childhood religious trauma, you may also be interested in [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov] and [psypost.org]
Thanks. I'll check them out. I remember from my psych training that correlation does not imply causation. That's why I asked.
@TheoryNumber3 I will admit that I had to find links that appeared to show causation, not just mere correlation. I remember one article from perhaps the late 1970s showing that hemlines were positively correlated with sunspot activity, of which I would say "Go figure!". 
@anglophone You mean they're not???
Don't tell me that you don't believe in the Tooth Fairy and Santa? Gasp!!!
Petter
Level 9
Apr 9, 2023
5
No, I'm devoted to the Flying Spaghetti Monster
@TheoryNumber3 I worship his collander, which so empathetically takes the strain.
@Petter Ouch! Nothing gets pasta you. I'll pass that one along to my friend Al Dente.
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