RELIGION: Religious Beliefs are Part of Human Nature

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As you have noticed, Religion is big topic for me. It has been a big topic for me since my high school days at Holy Redeemer where I was told not to ask my questions during religious class because the teacher could not answer them or better yet, could not even address them or he would be fired. You are in religious class to listen and obey and not to ask questions; I chose not to be part of the herd.

Since that time I have amassed a body of knowledge about Christianity and Catholicism that could rival that of any priest or bishop.

My problem is not with religious faith; my problem is with religion as an organization and with the leaders of that organization especially the Catholic Church.

My family is Catholic and some family members practice their Catholic faith which is important to them. They are cognizant of the difference between their faith and the actual church and its leaders, many of whom are not even very good humans.

I don’t have a problem with religious faith as long as those holding their specific beliefs realize that they are beliefs only and do not construe those beliefs with reality or try to impose those beliefs on others as well as on society as if they were somehow mandated by their God that they themselves invented.

I have written on a number of occasions about the John Templeton Foundation which offers grants for the study of humans and religion. One recent Templeton Report by Julia Vitullo-Martin titled “Is Atheism Unnatural”.

The question posed is “Why do human beings believe in God?” Oxford psychologist Justin Barrett answers; because of the way our minds are designed. Belief in the supernatural is a natural and predictable product of human development.

The question now is how and why did evolution make religious beliefs part of human nature?

I have always maintained that one’s brain naturally moves to a creator God of the things before us because not thinking that way causes stress since there are no easy alternative answers.

If religious beliefs are so natural that, according to this study, it might take particular, aggressive cultural conditions to deviate from that path, why am I the way I am and have been for a long time especially coming from a strict Catholic home environment?

I will have to explore that a little further…

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