Survey of reasons to believe: belief vs. non-belief (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, April 01, 2025, 21:19 (1 day, 11 hours, 19 min. ago) @ dhw

Belief versus non-belief

DAVID: Atheism does not win:

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-atheists-secular-countries-intuitive-religious.html?utm_s...

dhw: A load of nonsense, but I feel obliged to respond.

"New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that atheists in some of the world's most secular countries show an intuitive preference for religious belief over atheism.”

dhw: I have absolutely no idea how someone who believes there is no such being as God can intuitively prefer to believe that there is a God. How many thousands of atheists did the researchers psychoanalyse? How many such "confessions" have they listed?

"[The study] provides compelling cross-cultural experimental evidence that pro-religious intuitions happen even in societies that have become largely secular.”

dhw: “Compelling evidence” could be found just by googling whether there are any churches/synagogues/mosques/ religious institutions in this or that country. How does this prove that atheists intuitively prefer to believe in God rather than disbelieve in God?

"Across all countries, participants were more likely to judge that an action knowingly causing a shift toward atheism was intentional, suggesting people intuitively see religious belief as preferable.”

dhw: No example given to clarify this. If Richard Dawkins intentionally wrote a book called The God Delusion, does that mean he intuitively prefers to believe in God?

QUOTE: "'Belief might be on the decline in many places, but belief in the goodness of belief lives on."

dhw: That doesn’t mean that people who believe there is no God prefer to believe that there is a God! But if it helps some people to believe in God, then even an atheist can say that’s good.

QUOTE: "'Even in highly secular environments, people—including nonbelievers—seem to harbor a preference for belief over atheism."

dhw: I wonder how someone who disbelieves in God can “seem to” believe in God? This is all nebulous nonsense!

"The study offers new insights [..] challenging the assumption that cultural shifts away from religion necessarily erase pro-religious intuitions.”

dhw: That is no proof that atheists prefer to believe in God! Here in the UK, lots of churches have closed down or been put to other uses. The decline does not prove that atheists believe intuitively in God.

"Professor McKay concluded: While explicit religious belief may be fading, underlying intuitions favoring belief could persist for generations.'"

dhw: Of course. A conclusion which has nothing whatsoever to do with atheists who believe intuitively in God!

DAVID: is belief some how intuitively built-in? Or is it that more good is expected from believers? On the other hand man-made institutions can be overburden with rules and practices enough to drive some away.

dhw: Your questions are fair enough. I’m inclined to believe that “intuition” is often simply a reflection of whatever culture we were born into, though some of us might instinctively rebel, and cultures also change in time. Your final remark is horribly relevant nowadays, when we read about the appalling behaviour and the massive cover-ups which make a mockery of any expectations concerning the goodness of religious institutions.

Your good analysis of a weird paper is appreciated. It still comes down to believers are felt
to avoid evil and are safer to trust.