Is being atheist the natural way because if religion hadn't been invented everybody would be atheist anyway?

Question

It's only because they were told and taught that religion is right, but if they didn't know anything about it they would be atheist too.

Answer 1

Religion originates from fear of death, and a deep seated emotional need for a sky parent. People create  gods in their own image, and then convince themselves it's the other way around. Why do you think there are so many different religions, and so many different gods.  

Answer 2

A baby when it's born, knows nothing of any religion and must be taught. If no one is around to teach them, they would most likely create one to explain that which they didn't understand...

If they were born with a religion, why isn't evey one born in the same one? Why aren't Pygmy's born Christian?

Answer 3

I don't agree.

I'll bet the Neanderthals had a god, like the sun.

It is a human need to invent answers to questions for which we have no answers.  Questions like, what made the universe?

Answer 4

No, God revealed Himself in creation, for one, and atheism is a WILLFUL denial of God.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who SUPPRESS THE TRUTH by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."  Romans 1:18-20

  

Answer 5

atheism in the natural position...babies are born atheist

Answer 6

Humanity, for some odd reasons feels the urge to make up things to explain things they don't understand.

Answer 7

That about sums it up. If primitive man had understood what made lightening and sunsets he'd have never dreamed up gods.  

Answer 8

You're exactly right. It's completely logical....how can ANYONE believe in religious doctrine, if said doctrine hadn't been injected into their skulls by their institution?

As Richard Dawkins said.....every single person on the planet IS actually an atheist. Because no one person believes in every God. People like you and myself just go one God further, that's all.

Answer 9

I'm inclined to believe that if God never existed, then neither would Adam or Eve...... or any of us.  

Answer 10

I dont believe so.

Remember most of the earths population still believes in some sort of divine diety.  In ancient times nearly everyone probably did.  You did have atheists in ancient times to but not to the degree we have now.  I dont believe thats because it is right just scientists and historians are getting better and better at arguing against religion.  Yet (you'll probably disagree with this if you are atheist) no one in history has found lasting contradictions in the bible nor any errors whatsoever.  People can and wil try to discredit the  bible till the end of time but it will stand because it is the true word of God.  With all the arguments against it I dont think it would remain the top largest religion if it werent true.  

I think religion is so prevalent because most people realize that this universe had to be created by a thinking and magnificent being.  

In my opinion I just cant look at this complex universe and not see intelligent design.  Random chance just doesnt cut it for me.  

Answer 11

If religion had not been invented, then there would be no Atheists because we would never have had the concept of gods, goddesses, or other supreme type beings.  We would not need, nor know, the term Atheist.  

Answer 12

Actually if we didn't get the idea of an invisible man in the sky we'd probably worship the Sun, Moon, and Earth.  Since they have more control over our lives than any invisible man.

Answer 13

People are born with the capacity to believe in God and we either nuture that capacity or deny it. I think the fact that we can reason and ask 'Who made the world' means that no one is born atheist but neither are people born with belief in God. We simply follow the evidence as we develop. Personally, speaking of a default position at birth seems too simplistic.

Answer 14

Without 'god'.

Correct.

~

Answer 15

Hard to say. I'm inclined to think that if everyone suddenly lost their current superstitions, they would just make up new ones.  

Answer 16

to an extent your right. the only minor difference would be that they wouldn't worship an entity. they will be very superstitious though. just look at early history. so yea, they would be atheists also. plus everyone's atheist to some god or another. for ex. a christian is atheist to the hindu god, and vice versa. i'm just one god less than everyone else. i'm outside the box instead of in, like every theist.

Answer 17

No, You keep on telling yourself that though.

Answer 18

This is very true, although back when religion was invented they didn't know all the discoveries about science that we do today.

Answer 19

That's right, atheism is the default.

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Answer 20

Thought of the Moment:

It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning. -Bill Watterson, comic strip artist (1958- ), in his comic strip Calvin & Hobbes

Answer 21

No, the creation of religions has been a nearly universal phenomenon.  Read "Earth Abides" by George Stewart.  It's a sci-fi novel, not a text book, but it provides very interesting speculation on how and why we fill that need for religion, even if we are not given any.

For another view on how that happened, here's what William Blake said:

The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with the properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged & numerous senses could percieve.

And particularly they studied the genius of each city & country, placing it under its mental deity;

Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of & enslav'd the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental deities from their objects: thus began Priesthood;

Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.

And at length they pronounc'd that the Gods had order'd such things.

Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.

PS, finding some way to create mind altering states within ourselves is another human universal.  For the few (very few) cultures that didn't invent a way to ferment something into alcohol, they found natural botanicals that could do the job, like peyote or coca leaves.

Praying and getting drunk, the two universal conditions of humanity.  Just what does that say about us?

Answer 22

There would always be someone who would come up with some sort of weird tales to 'mystify' the sheep. Religion is about money, power, and control and there are always going to be people who will take advantage of the ignorance of others.