Religious belief has endured for several reasons, other than indoctrination, which is necessary but not the only factor holding religious belief in place.
1) An answer - It is human nature to want to understand the reasons for life and the purpose of our existence. Religion provides this to many people, and ultimately supplies their lives with meaning.
2) Community - Since religion can provide an individual with meaning, it is very easy to develop connections with others who share the same beliefs. Surrounding yourself with others who share the same values can be advantageous for several reasons. Being in the in-group provides various forms of assistance when necessary. Furthermore, feeling connected with a community has been correlated with improved quality of life, happiness, etc. The in-group/out-group dynamic would have been particularly useful many years ago, but can still be easily seen today.
3) Comfort - Since religion can provide an answer on life (point 1), it is believed that it can provide an answer on death. Nothing would be better than too know when your loved ones die, they are literally in a better place. It can comfort the inconsolable with the hope of seeing a loved one again. This is another reason why increased levels of depression and a perceived lower quality of life has been correlated lack of religiosity.
(Remember, correlation does not mean causation, but merely a statistical relationship).
There are probably more factors but these are what stick out the most. Indoctrination is a necessary factor....the foundation if you will, but these other factors only strengthen belief. All of them actually revolve around increasing comfort in some capacity.
1) An answer - It is human nature to want to understand the reasons for life and the purpose of our existence. Religion provides this to many people, and ultimately supplies their lives with meaning.
2) Community - Since religion can provide an individual with meaning, it is very easy to develop connections with others who share the same beliefs. Surrounding yourself with others who share the same values can be advantageous for several reasons. Being in the in-group provides various forms of assistance when necessary. Furthermore, feeling connected with a community has been correlated with improved quality of life, happiness, etc. The in-group/out-group dynamic would have been particularly useful many years ago, but can still be easily seen today.
3) Comfort - Since religion can provide an answer on life (point 1), it is believed that it can provide an answer on death. Nothing would be better than too know when your loved ones die, they are literally in a better place. It can comfort the inconsolable with the hope of seeing a loved one again. This is another reason why increased levels of depression and a perceived lower quality of life has been correlated lack of religiosity.
(Remember, correlation does not mean causation, but merely a statistical relationship).
There are probably more factors but these are what stick out the most. Indoctrination is a necessary factor....the foundation if you will, but these other factors only strengthen belief. All of them actually revolve around increasing comfort in some capacity.
