Reading through Truemors (one of my favourite interesting news aggregator sites) this afternoon I came across a headline for a a BBC news report which claims that religious people lead happier lives. As a therefore “desperately unhappy atheist :D” I decided to check it out.
Truemors:
Believing in God Makes You HappierAre you happy? If so, the chances are you probably believe in God. New research is now proving what many have known for centuries and that is, belief in God, leads to a more contented life. Believers have a sense of meaningful purpose in their lives, which allows them to go through difficult times with ease. However, believing in God is one thing and experiencing God is another. Then again, there are those who think that organized religion damages people, after all remember religion is man made, but God isn’t.
And my quickie response:
The fact that religion has a consoling effect on people still does nothing to prove whether it’s true or not. A more interesting question to explore should be: what is is about the human mind that requires the belief in myths or holding faith without evidence to be happy? Is there a psychological reason? Is it just pack mentality and a sense of belonging? I don’t think any of us fully know the answer yet.
For what it’s worth: people who drink excessively and smoke marijuana report greater happiness during their binges… does that therefore make them healthy and their activities should therefore be emulated? Are non drinkers and non smokers therefore less happy?
My 2 cents.
I just genuinely feel concern when I see people attempting to justify an activity on the basis that it makes people feel good. It’s unethical and the potential for it to be used against innocent people is too high.
Another example of this would be in a hospital setting: would you want your doctor to lie about a potentially life threatening condition on the basis that it would make you feel better? Is the fact that it’s untrue less of a concern then?
Pretty scary stuff. I’m off for a coffee.
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3 Comments
“The fact that religion has a consoling effect on people still does nothing to prove whether it’s true or not”
This sentence makes no sense. What are you taking about? Is religion not true? What does that even mean?
As for the drinking and pot bit; People who use alcohol or marijuana twice a month are more mentally stable than non-users. I guess you’re gonna start preaching that religion is the same way now. And if you really want to be pragmatic, read William James (The Philosopher) and you’ll get an interesting perspective on religion from one of the great minds in American history.
@Guyduc
“The fact that religion has a consoling effect on people still does nothing to prove whether it’s true or not”
“This sentence makes no sense. What are you taking about? Is religion not true? What does that even mean?”
Calm down sir! I was not primarily arguing religion’s truth, I was stating that merely being comforted by something doesn’t provide an additional reason for believing something to be true. If you can’t see that distinction, that’s a genuine concern.
The article was stating that religious people are somehow happier than non religious people. I was attempting to understand why that is, whether it’s group mentality, or a feeling of belonging, or whether we like to be ruled by someone we have no hand in choosing who dictates how we should live. It’s as much a question of psychology as it is about religion, and it’s a field of study I’d be fascinated to learn more about.
Funny, I came here searching for openbox and bsd. =)
Different social psychology research has given me the impression that we humans weren’t created as truth-seekers. Perhaps we need deception to reproduce and feel good.
You are adressing the “appeal to consequences” argument. God exists, because I like to believe in him. Santa Claus exists because I like to believe in him. When you think about it, how open minded are you yourself to exploring ideas that doesn’t seem appealing? I wouldn’t have come across this blog if I didn’t like the looks of your window manager, no matter how many arguments you would have coughed up about functionality. Liking does play a huge role in what positions we seek out to defend or not. It is part of life.
Sad? Maybe. Frustrating? At times, yeah.
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