Why do people believe in things such as God when there is no evidence backing his existence?
460261
Because humans need meaning.  We're not content to exist "in the wild", so we drew the animals we hunted on our caves, recorded our family history, created symbols.  Human invention and technology occurred not just to secure ourselves from the elements, but to create the framework for pursuing a fulfilling and meaningful life.  In other words, civilization. \n\nMeaning and faith are linked.  A more practical definition of faith is "trust".  Trust is as critical an element to humanity as the physical elements.  It is the currency of relationships and society.  All of us trust in a huge web of givens that provide a framework for our life and meaning.  Yet trust is "irrational"--it can't be measured physically, and often must be exercised despite evidence showing that an outcome is unreliable.  The vast majority of even physical realities aren't completely reliable and predictable and scientifically, much is still to be understood.  So trust and meaning are already a leap into the "unknown".  But we can't live without them.  This mystery leads us to the spiritual.\n\nNow, you say there's no evidence proving God's existence.  But there's a materialistic bias embedded in that statement, which is important because materialism doesn't account for trust and meaning. In fact, honest materialism pushed to its endpoint concludes that there is no meaning--which brings you back to square one, since that doesn't describe human existence.  Materialism is also a modern, western thing--where people have achieved an unprecedented amount of leisure, affluence and security.  \n\nHowever, the vast majority of the world historically and population-wise is religious, because for them, things are way more unreliable in life.  They live the reality that meaning and chaos are often a razor's edge from each other.  So it could be said that the materialistic bias is just a spoiled modern western viewpoint and the more primal and honest viewpoint is the religious one.  After all we have the luxury to question things where so many others must rely on a higher source of hope.  If you live in the kind of poverty and injustice that scars the face of most of the earth, you need a deeper hope for meaning than "self-actualization" :-).\n\nFinally, while there may be no physical evidence to prove God's existence, there is plenty of evidence about our existence that indicates the spiritual.  On the flip side, there isn't any physical evidence that disproves God's existence.  Ironically, in a human existence based around trust and  meaning, one could argue that the need to trust/believe in God is completely fitting.
260279
If you believe there is something that was not created (god) then you are opening a precedent, paving the way to believing that others things needed not be created (eg, universe).\nTherefore, even those who believe in God shouldn't necessarily believe that the universe was created!
840458
There would be nothing more discouraging than to be overwhelmed by the thought that there was no God, and we live for a short mortal life, and then death comes and is final.  It feels good to believe in God, because it gives man purpose, for without Him, there is no purpose or point.  With God, all things are possible, and thought wants to go there and stay for awhile (like eternally), because life on earth is not anyone's dream of paradise.
648386
There are a couple steps of atheism:  Mild atheism; where a person just doesn't believe in religion because there isn't any proof. If proof were offered, then they'd believe. Or perhaps they just think that there's too much to be known by people, which is technically called Agnostistism. \n\nThen there's true atheism, which denies the existance of everything non-tangable. When you die, you decay in the ground. Your soul disapears. And that's that.
535471
Woo hoo, a comment clearly designed to start a big argument on here, which I don't agree with, everyone has their own opinions!\n\nHowever, I sense that the basis of your point is that there is no real hard evidence to sustain the existence of any god, which is not the same as saying he doesn't exist, but is a definite statement to say that wehave no way of knowing. \n\nSo why everyone doesn't just live their life based upon earthly things, eg looking after and revering the earth around us, rather than pinning our hopes on some concept of a higher being, I don't know. \n\n(by the way, there IS actually hard evidence to suggest that the whole idea of a god stems from a part of the human brain, which operates only to convince us of a higher power, so we feel more significant than we actually are..)
667326
It has always struck me as curious why those that claim no belief in God spend so much of there time trying to convince others they are right.\nIt would seem to me that if they are that enlightened they wouldn't want to waste time with those that believe.\nI personally think this is caused by a deep seated feeling that there is a God, all they need is someone to show them the way.\nBut then that's just my opinion.
685740
There is no proof that a god exists which actually holds up (all of the ones that people have come up with so far have been knocked down).\n\nThere are however disproofs of the existance of some types of god which still hold.
1107930
If God wanted to leave absolutely no room for anyone to doubt or try to disprove His existance and authority, He could have done. His thoughts and ways are better than ours - we'd love everyone to just have to believe - but God gives everyone the choice. People don't want it to be true that there is a God - the implications are too big. Like recognising that yes there is actually right and wrong - people don't want to go there - remember Pharohs magicians who tried to explain away the wonders that were shown them in Egypt - they didn't want to acknowlege God either - its nothing fresh!  The reality of our Eternal God who controls everything in life and death is just more than folks can take - they want to "live a good life and be happy" They don't want to know about a God who will hold us responsible what we do with our lives, it just doesn't fit with their "lifestyle choice". They will either try to logically reason a way that it could possibly have happened without needing a God or they will just instantly dismiss these realities without further thought as just "fairy tales". Don't fret. Yes some people will try to explain things in a way that ignores God, they refuse to believe - creation itself cries out! Its of no suprise in one sense ... there is going to be both the sheep and the goats. Stand firm. One day every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that He Is LORD.
94731
It takes more faith to believe that there is no GOD then it does to believe that there is a GOD... If someone is reasonable they must admit there are only two ways that the universe could have came into existance. Either it was all created by an all powerful, all knowing GOD, or it just created itself for nothing and by nothing... I'm no math wizard but I do know that nothing + nothing = nothing and GOD + nothing = everything...
348436
It's not really relevent, because people will believe what they want to believe.\n\nIF somehow someone managed to say they had scientific proof that god either existed or didn't exist, then I doubt that all that people would change their beliefs.
415985
Why should someone believe?  There's no proof.\n\nI find it interesting that so many people equate God with an accountability in their lives.  Are you so terrified that without someone holding a big stick and a carrot over your head you'll do something awful.  Take some responsibility for yourself, do the right thing because it's right, not because you are afraid of the consequences or desire a reward.  How juvenile.
358176
It depends on your point of view.\nSometimes, some people feel that "God" is merely a device to keep us humanity in check, something that we have concocted to explain all the mysteries and unexplainable (in our current era. There might be an explanation much later.) stuff which happens in our lifetime.\nIt is plausible. People used to think flying was impossible, forget the flying machines. Air conditioning? How about all the laws of Physics that led to so many wonderful creations? They used to think that such things were unthinkable, magic, strange, impossible.\nBut never say IMPOSSIBLE, because we don't know what is and what isn't possible. \nJust a few centuries ago we all thought the Earth was flat.\n\nSome people, think and feel God is the God in our Scriptures. After all, they feel, the people of the past were much purer than the people today.\n\nSome people think that God is merely a presence in the world, an omni-present entity with powers of the unknown, and no apparent good or evil intentions, just there.\n\nIt's all up to what your heart tells you, and what you feel you can believe truthfully without deceiving yourself. Just be honest to yourself, that's all - you don't need people to justify, give a reason or judge you for what you believe in.\n\nJenova\n(d.yuffie@gmail.com)
1149263
i believe in god because i have faith he exists based on what i see when i look in my backyard or any where, all the trees, and flowers, so many different kinds of animals, there's no other explanation\n"From the time the world was created people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made they can clearly see his invisible qualities- his eternal power, and divine nature, so they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God."\n-Romans 1:20
643808
Because they like to believe God doesn't exist, that way there is no judgement for their sin
327158
If you truly do not believe in something then, to you, it does not exist - truth is the perception of the individual.\n\nSince there are countless religions with varying ideas of 'god' then they cannot all be 'right' in a strict sense.\n\nI personally do not believe (or feel the need to believe) in  a God - this, however, does not stop a God existing for you.\n\nPeace out.
481059
There is no "actual" proof of there really being a god. People are just so fixated on "god" that people in turn believe that he and/or she is real.
1100573
The existence of "God" will never be proved or disproved. Those who cling to religious believes do so because they refuse to consider alternatives.