Religious belief/disbelief pill

[watchamadoodle]

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Ew,

another problem:

How could the Baneemyite Pill be developed and tested ? There haven't been any for over 100 years.


Also, how could the Mormon pill work ???

There have been so many revisions and changes to the Revelations, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrines and Covenants over time, and still on going to this day, how could the pill 'hit' such a rapidly moving target ???

It would be weird to try that pill on them and then they turn out to have developed belief in Joe Smith's original versions of all his revelations, but then to be conflicted with, let's say, a 1920s version of Doctrines and Covenants where all the revelations are different, and on top of that, to believe in a current revision of the Book of Mormon which is now a total mish mash of almost 5000 changes since Joe received it perfectly from God on the first try back in (choose one) 1820, 1821, 1824, 1825, 1826, etc.



It would be too much for a human brain to absorb!! I would expect a disturbing mess like we saw in that movie Scanners; a total cranium detonation.

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Hmmm... Maybe the religion pill should simply help the patient believe whatever he/she hears or reads...

[Godscreated]

What if a pill existed that could cause a person to believe a particular religion or even believe atheism (gnostic)?

What do you think of engineering a religion that would increase happiness, productivity, morality, and other beneficial traits, and then force these religious pills down everybody's throats (sort of like giving pills to a cat )?

Or if the social engineers decided that atheism would be best, what about forcing atheism pills down everybody's throats?

Childhood indoctrination is very much like this IMO.

No not in the least, sorry but in my experience most children are not indoctrinated, many Christian parents haven't the interest to even teach their children anything. Today it seems that parents are to busy with their lives and getting ahead.

GC

[Jenny A]

No not in the least, sorry but in my experience most children are not indoctrinated, many Christian parents haven't the interest to even teach their children anything. Today it seems that parents are to busy with their lives and getting ahead.

GC

So, assuming you are right and Christian parents are not indoctrinating their children, is that a good thing, or a bad thing?

[watchamadoodle]

No not in the least, sorry but in my experience most children are not indoctrinated, many Christian parents haven't the interest to even teach their children anything. Today it seems that parents are to busy with their lives and getting ahead.

Children trust most of what their parents say, so it doesn't take much to indoctrinate them. If the family sometimes goes to church, or even if a parent occasionally voices a religious opinion in front of the child, then indoctrination happens.
On the other hand, parents are less religious, and children are exposed to a greater variety of religious ideas through their peers (due to the shrinking percentage of Christians), so you are probably right that indoctrination is decreasing.

[Angrboda]

And the dominant culture makes a difference as well. If you were in India, growing up Muslim or Hindu rather than Christian would hardly be a surprise because the beliefs are all around you while you are growing up. Children are very impressionable.

[Spooky]

What if a pill existed that could cause a person to believe a particular religion or even believe atheism (gnostic)?

What do you think of engineering a religion that would increase happiness, productivity, morality, and other beneficial traits, and then force these religious pills down everybody's throats (sort of like giving pills to a cat )?

Or if the social engineers decided that atheism would be best, what about forcing atheism pills down everybody's throats?

Childhood indoctrination is very much like this IMO.

I believe you've just described the movie "Equilibrium":

[watchamadoodle]

I believe you've just described the movie "Equilibrium":

Thanks Now I know what movie to watch next.

[Nope]

I think that people remain in religions because the particular faith meets some need they have. A pill might remove their faith but wouldn't solve whatever issues led to them to turn to religion for answers.

[watchamadoodle]

I think that people remain in religions because the particular faith meets some need they have. A pill might remove their faith but wouldn't solve whatever issues led to them to turn to religion for answers.

Imagine if believing in ceiling cat could make you happier and more productive.
Would you take the ceiling cat pill - knowing that you would be extremely happy and productive afterwards?

In other words, you said that religious belief addresses issues that people have, so why not take a pill to cause religious belief if it helps these issues? Of course the religion would need to be carefully engineered to maximize the benefits and minimize the harms.

[robvalue]

I could "solve" all my issues by being drunk all the time so that I no longer cared about anything.

I don't think religion solves problems so much as drowns them. It makes you take a step back from reality and you hand over the reigns, to some degree.

Surely there's a healthier alternative than fairy tales for adults... come on people, let's find it quick!