Why people are religious

[robvalue]

Old Baby: I know, it's fucking scary. The anti-intellectual, anti-science and anti-reality agendas that often run through religion are downright harmful. Setting your children up with a bullshit version of the world, however well intended, is going to hold them back. And it's going to confuse the hell out of them when they are told it's all crap, and that science actually knows stuff. They then have an inner turmoil between mummy's fantasy world and the nasty, evil lying science mummy warned them about. The evil lying science that powers every aspect of their lives, and keeps them in good health.

Whateverist: When I said I assume a theist's reasons will be illogical, what I meant was the explanation they are going to give me. But almost always, I hear rationalisations and not the real reason. Those rationalizations are bollocks. The person may or may not know they are bollocks, of course. They may have convinced themselves they are good reasons. It's only very rarely I get a snippet of truth, and then it comes down to "I was raised that way". Which is obviously illogical, although understandable. Or the other, even worse one, "I'm scared not to believe".