What human purpose does religion fill?

[robvalue]

There are several explanations which have already been covered. But I still think the biggest reason is indoctrination. People are psychologically programmed, most effectively when they are very young, and it breaks them. It implants a bunch of nonsense, with the brain being forced to put it in the "true" box. When they get older, the mind throws up all kinds of defences to try and stop those ideas coming under proper scrutiny. Those things are true, they are in the true box. So whatever argument says they are true must be a valid argument. Anything that says they are probably false must be an invalid argument.

I see it all the time, even on this forum. People who otherwise are I'm sure very intelligent talk absolute nonsense, using garbage arguments and hand waving they wouldn't use for any other subject. But to them, what they're saying doesn't sound like nonsense. And their beliefs don't register as the absurd childish imaginary beliefs that they are.

It takes a strong will and a desire to seek the truth to stop and really examine whether these beliefs should still be in the "truth" box. If they do that properly, they will find they should not be there, as many ex-theists on here have shown. But I think most people pretend (even to themselves) that they are examining them, when really there is no way they're going to change their mind.