Why do some people need god and religion while others don't?

There is some overlap between this article and the one on The psychology, psychopathology and sociology of religion.

Intellectual reasons

The questions usually asked are:

• Where did everything come from?
• What happens when we die?

Religious people feel that a god answers both of these questions (as creator of the Universe and as host in some form of life after death) and they rarely ask themselves questions about their intellectual choice of religion:

• What need do I have that is met by god and religion?
• Why did I select my religion rather a different one? (There are over 100 religions in the world today.)
• Why did I select my particular sect rather than a different one? (All religions have fragmented into different sects.)
• What makes my sect and my religion better than the others?
• What makes some religions "true" and other religions "false"?
• Have I properly studied all available religions or have I simply opted for the first one I was told about?
• Am I being intellectually honest about my choice of religion?
• Have I studied the real facts and the real history of my religion - or do I simply assume that it is true?

Non-religious people, the god-free, have simple answers:

• Matter can be neither created nor destroyed - it simply changes form. There is no reason to assume that the Universe ever began, nor that it will ever end - the things within it will simply continue to change form over time for ever.
• Our consciousness is a function of our living brains. When our brains die, we cease to be conscious beings and the atoms that make up our physical bodies are recycled in the Universe.

The interesting thing is that many non-religious people have studied religions and their history in far greater depth than many religious people!

Emotional reasons

For some people god and religion overcome certain fears and meet certain emotional needs:

• Fear of the unknown - where did everything come from and what is the meaning for life?
• Fear of death - the promise of an afterlife gives hope in a sometimes complex and cruel world.
• A need for an externally dictated set of rules by which to run their lives.
• A need for a support structure to turn to in times of stress: church, temple, synagogue, mosque.

Growing up is hard. Becoming an adult means becoming independent of the support structure of parents, family and home and becoming responsible for your own life and, sometimes, for the lives of others. It means running your life by rules that you personally consider to be fair and just. It also means living within the rules of society and meeting your personal social responsibilities.

Sometimes this step can be hard. Some people cannot do it on their own and never achieve personal independence. They never internalise their own set of social and moral rules but feel safer when they rely on those dictated by a religion.

Non-religious people do not have this problem - they grow up and take personal responsibility for their own lives. They are happy to create their own social (moral) rules and to accept social responsibilities - as long as they consider things to be fair and just. This is why most non-religious people have very strong views on human rights and campaign against all forms of social injustice and discrimination.

Social reasons

Atheists in Kansas enjoy pretty miserable social lives!

In the bible belt of the USA every tiny town has dozens of churches which become the focal points of the social lives of almost all the inhabitants.

All religions are social organisations. They provide not only an opportunity for believers to worship their god but also a social life and support structure that most people need at some time in their lives.

In England the social life of religion remains very important for certain groups of people.

• The increasingly elderly population within the CofE find that church gives them something to do, people to talk to and a support structure away from the sometimes frighteningly fast, noisy and aggressive modern world.
• Religion provides a point of shared cultural identity for ethnic minority groups - a place where they can share the beliefs that they, their parents or their grandparents had "at home" before they came to England.
• For the happy-clappies, the Pentecostal Christians, religion provides the social life, support structure and emotional rush that keeps their batteries charged throughout life - hence the accent on large scale, pop-concert style, meetings: lots of clapping, lots of singing and lots of smiling. Life is good, god is great, Jesus is our saviour - let's all be happy together and forget about the problems of the modern world.

Cynical social reasons

In some cynical cases religion is treated as a means to an end.

Parents may join their local church, or even change their religion, in order to get their children into a school they feel is better than others.

Restricted-entry groups form within religions (for example: Opus Die, The Knights of Columbus, Knights of Malta, etc within the Catholic Church) and such groups are open about the fact that they provide mutual support for their members. In some cases such groups offer personal gain to members (it is easier to do business deals with people who believe the same things than it is to open up those deals to everyone) while in others they have aims which involve the control of the whole of society. Their argument, of course, is that by imposing their beliefs, they will bring benefit to everyone! (Religious arrogance is fundamental to the formation of secret societies.)