I don't think it is a deity they need to believe in but a life beyond the natural span. After all some Buddhists are atheists, yet are religious. A deity is not always required to be religious, but an existence beyond this one is prevalent in religion. There are exceptions of course, some Satanic religions don't believe in gods, or afterlives, but I suspect they are mostly taking the piss.
That's actually a good question - rare for this forum. There is no easy answer, but seems to me that humans need something to believe in other than themselves. A lot of atheists have an irrational belief in communism or socialism despite it's unbroken record of - not only failure but mass slaughter when things don't work out as expected.
During the 60s when churches started losing membership in large numbers, the people that left, or many of them, turned to paganism, wiccan, and far eastern beliefs. Some would argue that psychotherapy is a kind of religious experience. I'm not writing to disparage any of the above, but rather to point out the validity of your question: people need something metaphysical.
Why? There just seems to be need to believe in something bigger than ourselves that gives us a reason to live. It states that we have a purpose in life and that in turn puts us above the animals. That some think our purpose is to be slaves to the state is a problem far greater than any religion ever posed.
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I don't think it is a deity they need to believe in but a life beyond the natural span. After all some Buddhists are atheists, yet are religious. A deity is not always required to be religious, but an existence beyond this one is prevalent in religion. There are exceptions of course, some Satanic religions don't believe in gods, or afterlives, but I suspect they are mostly taking the piss.
Fear of the hell and fear of the dangers of material life ...
I don't. He just happens to exist and I have experienced him for myself.
That's actually a good question - rare for this forum. There is no easy answer, but seems to me that humans need something to believe in other than themselves. A lot of atheists have an irrational belief in communism or socialism despite it's unbroken record of - not only failure but mass slaughter when things don't work out as expected.
During the 60s when churches started losing membership in large numbers, the people that left, or many of them, turned to paganism, wiccan, and far eastern beliefs. Some would argue that psychotherapy is a kind of religious experience. I'm not writing to disparage any of the above, but rather to point out the validity of your question: people need something metaphysical.
Why? There just seems to be need to believe in something bigger than ourselves that gives us a reason to live. It states that we have a purpose in life and that in turn puts us above the animals. That some think our purpose is to be slaves to the state is a problem far greater than any religion ever posed.
It's where I ended up. How did you do?
What you don't understand is that you need that too.
Why do sheep need a shepherd?
Awareness of their mortality (knowing they will die one day) drives them into irrational beliefs.