Why do people believe what they believe?
Logically, there must be a core set of reasons that religious people continue to be religious when they have access to education and ample resources for personal fulfillment. How could anyone with the ability to process logical thought stay within a belief system that is so clearly and patently false? This is a relatively uneducated and sourceless rant, mind you. I'm not a psychologist nor am I a scientist. I am currently trying to educate myself on the subject but for now all I have is opinions.
As an atheist, it is hard to listen to religious or "spiritual" speak about their beliefs. The urge to cry out, "But that's wrong, you fucking idiot," is almost unbearable. I could argue with a deeply religious person until the end of time and nothing would change their thoughts on the subject. That's where logical people and theists differ: given sufficient evidence and a compelling argument I will seriously reconsider even deeply held beliefs and ideas. Religious people will not. It is, in point of fact, a major part of their faith that they don't ever question the authority of the church and, more importantly, God his/her/itself.
It is so clearly crowd control. If a governmental system that demanded blind obedience and utter compliance with an arbitrary set of laws existed in the world (the closest corollary being North Korea) it would be intolerable to free-thinking people. Yet, the Vatican continues to be a major influence on the world.
I just... I can't respect religious people after a certain point. Even if they are smart, altruistic, friendly, polite and interesting I know that deep down they hold beliefs that hurt people all around the world every day. And they feel superior for doing so.
It is beyond infuriating.
