Wayne Besen - Author, Activist, Columnist, Public Speaker

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

9 Comments:

Laugh--i wonder how many people who see this will believe it's real.
posted by Anonymous, at 3/26/2008 8:40 AM

This is too funny!! But in reality - they are looking for a genetic link to those who follow a religious life. And I truly think there is one. I know my mother is certainly baffled and looking for some hope!! Hahahaha
posted by Anonymous, at 3/26/2008 2:38 PM

I'm drawn to Dawkins' theory of religion, which is that we've evolved to assimilate information from authority figures. This is necessary of course because humans don't have as many inborn instincts as many other animals. We have to be taught early on not to put our hand on the stove, for example, and we learn that lesson very quickly when our mother or father slaps our hand away.

So as children we have to be like little computers, accepting the input that our parents or guardians give us, which for the most part is an advantage. If little kids questioned their parents, they could frankly end up injured or dead.

Unfortunately since we are like little sponges, we also soak up all the bullshit our parents and other authority figures say. "Don't touch the stove" gets poured into our toddler brains along with "Jesus died for your sins".

So it's fairly easy to indoctrinate a child, which is what most religious families do. And of course the superstitions get passed on to each new generation. Though some people will always break away from fundamentalism, or religion altogether, as they learn about the world and the diversity of human culture and see that there's a bigger picture.

Makes sense to me. Although it doesn't rule out that there may also be certain people born with a special temperament that is even more prone to indoctrination and/or flights of fancy.

Or maybe it's just that some people never grow out of believing authority figures are always right.
posted by Anonymous, at 4/02/2008 12:59 PM

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