(July 17, 2016 at 5:42 pm)ignoramus Wrote: It's about what theists believe as adults but what they tell the young about how the real world works. They do know the difference, hence the dissonance.
That's not what cognitive dissonance is.
Cognitive dissonance is about the mind's struggle to reconcile one's worldview with reality, or one idea with another which contradicts it. It is about the person's discomfort or fatigue. Just saying somebody has a bullshit idea, or teaches something different to his kids, doesn't represent cognitive dissonance. It's very much about how the person is feeling and functioning.
An example of cognitive dissonance in religion might occur in a young Christian as he goes through science and philosophy classes, and starts to realize how untenable the God idea is. Then he'll go through a high level of stress, of guilt, of avoiding the family, etc. until finally something snaps-- he might have a nervous breakdown, or he might just tell his family that he has to walk away from the God idea, because it's doing him more harm than good.
