How can someone convert from Atheist to Religious

[Heat]

It boggles my mind that a person who has become Atheist because of gaining knowledge, like not that they don't know the lack of evidence, but are atheist BECAUSE they know the lack of evidence, can in some instances convert back to being religious.

How can this happen?

It's not like any new evidence for God has been brought up recently, or will any time soon, yet there are plenty of new-age atheist arguments coming in every day.

[Chad32]

Either because they're in a compromising position, or if they never really gave religion serious thought until someone talked about it in a convincing manner. It may not happen often, especially in adulthood, but it can happen.

There are also religious people who may claim to be former atheists for one reason or another, but actually weren't. Like people with testimonies where apparently they did every single bad thing ever before turning to jesus and becoming a paragon of virtue. It could happen, but it's a little hard to believe.

Though there's also the chance that an atheist will convert only so far as professing christian, and attending church weekly, but actually not really believing it. because life usually goes smoother if you go with the grain.

[Minimalist]

I'll go with a brain tumor or early onset alzheimer's as the most likely reasons.

[Heat]

Either because they're in a compromising position, or if they never really gave religion serious thought until someone talked about it in a convincing manner. It may not happen often, especially in adulthood, but it can happen.

There are also religious people who may claim to be former atheists for one reason or another, but actually weren't. Like people with testimonies where apparently they did every single bad thing ever before turning to jesus and becoming a paragon of virtue. It could happen, but it's a little hard to believe.

Though there's also the chance that an atheist will convert only so far as professing christian, and attending church weekly, but actually not really believing it. because life usually goes smoother if you go with the grain.

To be fair, I do believe some Atheists will claim they were Religious before losing their faith.

I think both do it for credibility-sake.

[robvalue]

The interesting part to me is what people really believe. You can "go back to religion" but that doesn't mean you actually do believe any of the stuff. But just saying you do is enough to get back into religious social circles and traditions you may miss, and you may convince yourself enough to get back your warm fuzzies.

I'm just guessing. For someone who was indoctrinated, that part of their brain probably keeps on fighting them even after they see through religion logically. It may well emotionally manipulate them back into it (as may other people...). It may use the altered feelings, maybe the emotional reaction to the loss of religion, as "evidence" that the religion was actually true all along.

[Heat]

The interesting part to me is what people really believe. You can "go back to religion" but that doesn't mean you actually do believe any of the stuff. But just saying you do is enough to get back into religious social circles and traditions you may miss, and you may convince yourself enough to get back your warm fuzzies.

I'm just guessing. For someone who was indoctrinated, that part of their brain probably keeps on fighting them even after they see through religion logically. It may well emotionally manipulate them back into it (as may other people...). It may use the altered feelings, maybe the emotional reaction to the loss of religion, as "evidence" that the religion was actually true all along.

I think you and others are giving them the benefit of the doubt.
I didn't say it specifically, but what I was eluding to in my question was that;

The very strict amount of people who without any "well they didn't really stop", or any work arounds that will;

• Believe in God, and are a part of a religion,
  

• Stop believing in god after doing research, and etc, knowing the lack of evidence
  

• and then start believing again, actually believing, not just pretending, and not because they were forced, or because they "hated god" or some weird thing like that.
  

The people who, to sum it up, can go from somewhat irrational to completely rational and then to completely irrational.

I know that people can be coaxed back in, or may just lie and say they believe when they don't, I understand that.


What i'm saying is that it completely boggles my mind to think about how a person can become rational, from irrational, and then turn irrational again about a question as prevalent and important in their life like that.

How someone can lose faith, see all the arguments against it in the world and think "Yeah that's pretty dumb", or "Wow how could I legitimately believe that" and then suddenly start believing again. 

[robvalue]

It seems to me that our reasons for believing things, and our reasons for taking actions, can be roughly split into logical and emotional. I also think that people can be very bad at noticing the difference. The brain is really good at justifying things to itself. I notice it happening in real time, in my own brain, because I'm looking really closely.

I want to do X.
My brain starts manufacturing logical reasons why I should do X.
I convince myself I'm doing X for logical reasons.

If you're not careful, you simply don't notice this happening. And because you want to do X, there's an incentive for not looking too closely at this manufactured logic, and just assuming it's sound. If you do inspect it, you'll often find it's bogus.

Anyhow, I think religion feeds entirely on the emotional reasons. It actively tries to shut logic out of the equation, even to the point of badmouthing logic and calling it unreliable or even useless "in these matters". In our brains we have a constant battle between logic and emotion, and unless we're analysing our thoughts very carefully, it can hide this war as one cohesive unit.

Am I mad? Probably. But I think that when the emotional side wins the war, it can silence or co-opt the logical side, and convince the person overall. In other words, they now believe for objectively bad reasons; but to them, they are good reasons, because their brain tells them so. The logical side can temporarily win and rip someone into reality and atheism; but then the emotional side keeps fighting and can eventually win and pull them back.

[Aoi Magi]

Religion exploits our emotional vulnerabilities, and you cannot always explain away emotions with logic, especially when it comes with mental and social incentives. Think of it like that scene in The Matrix, where Cypher, wanted to be jacked back into the matrix despite knowing it was fake. Reality is not kind and sometimes people do feel the need to escape it!

[Longhorn]

Maybe the way they perceive the world changes. Maybe they have some kind of experience. Maybe they just change their minds.

And they ask themselves the same way, how can someone become an atheist after being a believer, and come up with their own answers too.

I just think it depends.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

---

The interesting part to me is what people really believe. You can "go back to religion" but that doesn't mean you actually do believe any of the stuff. But just saying you do is enough to get back into religious social circles and traditions you may miss, and you may convince yourself enough to get back your warm fuzzies.

I'm just guessing. For someone who was indoctrinated, that part of their brain probably keeps on fighting them even after they see through religion logically. It may well emotionally manipulate them back into it (as may other people...). It may use the altered feelings, maybe the emotional reaction to the loss of religion, as "evidence" that the religion was actually true all along.

---

I think you and others are giving them the benefit of the doubt.
I didn't say it specifically, but what I was eluding to in my question was that;

The very strict amount of people who without any "well they didn't really stop", or any work arounds that will;

• Believe in God, and are a part of a religion,
  

• Stop believing in god after doing research, and etc, knowing the lack of evidence
  

• and then start believing again, actually believing, not just pretending, and not because they were forced, or because they "hated god" or some weird thing like that.
  

The people who, to sum it up, can go from somewhat irrational to completely rational and then to completely irrational.

I know that people can be coaxed back in, or may just lie and say they believe when they don't, I understand that.


What i'm saying is that it completely boggles my mind to think about how a person can become rational, from irrational, and then turn irrational again about a question as prevalent and important in their life like that.

How someone can lose faith, see all the arguments against it in the world and think "Yeah that's pretty dumb", or "Wow how could I legitimately believe that" and then suddenly start believing again.

There are thousands of gods.  Which one do you consider to be the real one?
http://www.graveyardofthegods.org/deadgo...fgods.html