Are human beings "hard wired" to be religious or atheists?
397672
I think some people seek a higher purpose or reason for living. Others just think religion is stupid.\n\nPeople with more education tend to be less religious. Is there a relationship with intelligence? Who knows?\n\nMy guess is "hard wired", but upbringing is part of it.
266894
Human nature. Also, atheists might enjoy talking about religion more, even if they don't beleive in any.
149563
As an agnostic I do believe in morals values and preserving this little aquarium in space that we all live in. But being athiest does not make you any more moralistic or less than a religious person. Studies have shown that secular people have \nthe same morals as church folk. I would dare say that more have died in religously driven wars and disputes than common murder
937621
Not really.\n\nMost religions use an external belief in a 'God' or 'Jesus' to develop love and morality in their minds.\n\nBuddhists believe it is up to the individual to develop these traits. That's why Buddhism is sometimes called 'mind training' or a philosophy and not a religion.
242121
It takes what one would call 'faith'. I personally consider myself to have no religion, therefore I don't entirely understand why someone, rather most people in this world, would believe in a 'higher power', an 'intelligent creator', or 'GOD'.
960030
I am sure many atheists are stoics, since atheists simply do not believe in God. and stoics believe that virtue and happiness are obtained through destiny and natural law - there is no clash.\n\nMany unknowingly are stoics!!!
477442
No. It's just the more religious a person is the she/he hides from his/her self. People don't like to admit to themselves that they're petty, mean-spirited, backstabbing jerks. Therefore, they throw themselves into religion, using their relationship with "God" as a substitute for basic human goodness.\nThere are a few who transcend that and are truly good and spiritual, but the vast majority of Bible-thumpers aren't either.
183392
Absolutely. Religion allows people to "escape" death. Rather than deal with reality, it allows them to live in a childish fantasy world...one where they never really die. Instead they get to live forever with their magical sky daddy.
807048
I don't "persist in NOT believing in a higher power".\n\nI came to that belief after many years of committment to, believing in, living and studying Christiainity.\n\nIt was knowledge, not ignorance, that led me to become an atheist.  And it wasn't easy.\n\nThe nature of the world, from cosmology to sub-atomic physics to the structure of the human body was one strand,  the history of the bible and the church another.\nThe world as I see it fits rather better with a framework of NO god than a framework including one.\n\n(Though many details can be made to fit either model.  It's there that the a lot of the confusion and conflict occurs, as each side can point to one "fact" but derive completely different implications from it.)
617897
no relataion at all... religion believe of some supernatural and high form of being away from human understanding , atheists are non believers.....\n\n\nReligion is commonly defined as a group of beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, and rituals associated with such belief. It is sometimes used interchangeably with "faith" or "belief system"[1] In the course of the development of religion, it has taken many forms in various cultures and individuals. Occasionally, the word "religion" is used in the more restrictive sense of "organized religion" — that is, an organization of people supporting the exercise of some religion, often taking the form of a legal entity\n\nAtheism, in its broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of gods. This definition includes both those who assert that there are no gods, and those who make no claim about whether gods exist or not. Narrower definitions, however, often only qualify those who assert there are no gods as atheists, labeling the others as agnostics or simply non-theists.\n\nThere is no single ideology that all atheists share, nor are there any institutionalized rituals or behaviors. There are certain individuals whose religious or spiritual beliefs some might describe as atheistic, though those holding such beliefs do not normally describe themselves as atheists.
932866
I think they are pretty much like most.  Some are intelligent and have reached their position by in depth thought.  Others are parrots who just like what they have heard and parrot what others have said.  Sounds like the average Christian community of which I am a part.\n\nWhat I think those who have reached their position by in depth thought don't understand is that they each really do believe in an ultimate authority who calls all the shots just like Christians do.  The difference is Christians believe that ultimate authority is a diety who created all of us and controls the physical and spiritual world.  Atheists believe they are god in that they have decided that their intelligence reigns supreme and they make all the decisions. \n\nIn either case there is an ultimate authority.  It's just whether the ultimate authority is the individual or God.
786320
The definition of atheist is one who denies the existence of a higher being or beings. That in no way precludes them being spiritual it simply means they don't have a god figure. So, yes they can be spiritual but celebrating the birth of the son of a god would be rather silly. However, celebrating the love of friends and family is of tremendous importance regardless of your religioous beliefs.
320657
I've been on the other side where I thought that people who didn't believe in god must feel lost.  (I was raised to think they are evil.)  So, I can kinda understand why some religious individuals think that non-believers feel some sort of void or are immoral.  However, I also view that stance as an immature belief.  It doesn't take a lot of looking around to realize that agnostics and atheists are very content with their worldviews and live ethical lives.
320036
Absolutely not.  I honestly believe that I am not religious just for any reward of afterlife.  I believe that doing what is right is good for its own sake.  And I believe that being religious in my case helps me to be good.
858420
I'd say atheists could be slightly happier on average because they are allowed to accept themselves as good beings without being in conflict with their religion.  Most religions such as Christianity take the stance that humans are inherently sinful and bad.  An atheist can start with the idea that they can be however they act - it they act with kindness and love they can feel good about themselves and feel that they are good.  Religious folks are not allowed to feel that they are good beings without being in conflict with the teachings of their religions which state that they are not good beings and that their actions cannot make them good beings.  I feel sad that people are raised believing they are not able to be good no matter how good they behave or how kind they are.  \n\nThere's also no evil God hanging over our heads waiting to have us tested like Job or tortured like half the poor people in the Bible.  When something bad happens to us we don't have to think, "what did I do wrong?  why am I being punished?"  We can think, "oh, well, sh*t happens" without assigning blame to ourselves and get back to living without feeling guilty that something bad happened to us.  \n\nI have yet to see a Christian who could follow all the rules of his religion.  The rules are too many in number, conflicting, and complex.  They seem to be constantly "sinning" in their own opinion.  The guilt must be awful.  Religions are mostly based on the principle that humans are inherently base and evil beings.  Atheists don't have an obligation to feel like crap just because they were born human.\n\nTo sum up - \nAthiest = allowed to feel good about good actions\nAtheist = doesn't feel guilty when bad things happen to them\nAtheist = doesn't have to fear torments from a God\nAtheist = can have a clear conscience so long as they feel they've done nothing wrong\nAtheist = can believe that people are fundamentally good
853259
I would argue that even athism is a 'religion' -- a set of beliefs that guides their actions, and are no less miltant than most other sects of 'believers'.   I think that our 'religiosity' is ingrained, we seek to make sense of our world (even if it's: the world makes no sense), it gives us a kind of security.
509407
Yes,\ncheck out the "GOD Gene" too.\nThere is DNA which predisposes some people to believe in otherworldly things, like god.