Ever since William James published Varieties of Religious Experience, scholars the connection between human intelligence, suggestibility and the adaption of religion.
In every scholarly paper on the connection between suggestibility and religion, all the scholars agree that religious people are more susceptible to the power of suggestion than non-religious. It has been put forth by many that those who are religious may very well be in a state of a semi-hypnotic trance. They are not fully conscious or self-aware. In a sense they live in a artificial reality that's been fabricated around them by their culture and their religion.
Most of you will have notice that many of the religious people one meets seem to be oblivious to the basic facts of life. That is they are truly living in a fantasy world that was created around them.
So why are people susceptible to the power of suggestion? Human intelligence, the human species is one of the most intelligent animals on our planet, but the degree and nature of our intelligence lends us to the danger of being too aware, of information overload and the psychological damage that this entails. So nature gave us a defense against our own intelligence...the ability to put ourselves in a trance state where we do not have to deal with the burden of raw reality.
This is what religion and culture does to the human mind, they create a buffer around us so we do not have to deal with the raw and most brutal facts of life.
This is just my own opinion of the hows and whys we developed into religious animals. I may be wrong or you may have more info regarding these issues, so I hope you guys share your opinions and thoughts on these issues
In every scholarly paper on the connection between suggestibility and religion, all the scholars agree that religious people are more susceptible to the power of suggestion than non-religious. It has been put forth by many that those who are religious may very well be in a state of a semi-hypnotic trance. They are not fully conscious or self-aware. In a sense they live in a artificial reality that's been fabricated around them by their culture and their religion.
Most of you will have notice that many of the religious people one meets seem to be oblivious to the basic facts of life. That is they are truly living in a fantasy world that was created around them.
So why are people susceptible to the power of suggestion? Human intelligence, the human species is one of the most intelligent animals on our planet, but the degree and nature of our intelligence lends us to the danger of being too aware, of information overload and the psychological damage that this entails. So nature gave us a defense against our own intelligence...the ability to put ourselves in a trance state where we do not have to deal with the burden of raw reality.
This is what religion and culture does to the human mind, they create a buffer around us so we do not have to deal with the raw and most brutal facts of life.
This is just my own opinion of the hows and whys we developed into religious animals. I may be wrong or you may have more info regarding these issues, so I hope you guys share your opinions and thoughts on these issues
