Why is it irrational to believe in god?
Belief in God is considered irrational for two primary reasons: lack of evidence and evidence to the contrary (usually the problem of evil, which won’t be discussed in this essay). Note that both of these positions reject the rationality of belief in God on the basis of an inference.
What is it called when you don’t think god is real?
The difference is quite simple: atheist refers to someone who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods, and agnostic refers to someone who doesn’t know whether there is a god, or even if such a thing is knowable. Atheist came to English from the French athéisme.
What do you call a person who doesn’t believe in religion but believes in God?
Agnostic theism, agnostotheism or agnostitheism is the philosophical view that encompasses both theism and agnosticism. An agnostic theist believes in the existence of a God or Gods, but regards the basis of this proposition as unknown or inherently unknowable.
What is Morgan Freeman’s belief?
Along the way, Freeman, who has long identified himself as agnostic, discovered his religion: Zoroastrianism. “It is a belief system that is intrinsically me: ‘Good thoughts, good words, good deeds’ pretty much sums it up,’” he said.
Why can’t we remember when our beliefs fail the test?
Classic psychology studies show that we have trouble remembering the times when our personal beliefs have failed the test of outside evidence. This is because our minds automatically neutralize clashing information—such as that awkward moment when practitioners of a doomsday cult realize that the world did not come to an end when predicted.
Do analytic thinking and religion interrelate?
In both studies, this subtle reminder of analytic thinking caused participants to express less belief in God and religion. The researchers found no relationship between participants’ prior religious beliefs and their performance in the study. Analytic thinking reduced religious belief regardless of how religious people were to begin with.
Do our thinking styles influence our beliefs in God?
Building on these findings, in a recent paper published in Science, Will Gervais and Ara Norenzayan of the University of British Columbia found that encouraging people to think analytically reduced their tendency to believe in God. Together these findings suggest that belief may at least partly stem from our thinking styles.
How do beliefs become impervious to the facts?
Our beliefs become impervious to the facts in a process psychologists call cognitive immunization. Cognitive immunization helps to explain why some beliefs become even stronger when challenged. They also help to explain how we cannot let go of some beliefs in the face of overwhelming contradictory evidence.