I take the view that religion is a lot like a drug. We all crave a certain level of neurotransmitters in our brain, and the comfort and meaning people derive from religion releases neurotransmitters that their brain craves. The brain then craves more of those neurotransmitters, causing the person to want to repeat that comfortable feeling they have. The person essentially becomes addicted to that comfort, making it extremely hard to convince them it's not real.
Surely it's not an all-encompassing explanation, and I don't claim to speak for anyone. Each person is unique and has their own reasons. But given the way our brains operate and how our thoughts and beliefs affect that, it's definitely a viable theory.
Surely it's not an all-encompassing explanation, and I don't claim to speak for anyone. Each person is unique and has their own reasons. But given the way our brains operate and how our thoughts and beliefs affect that, it's definitely a viable theory.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
