An idea for what people believe
At present, I find myself blessed by recent weather, and still mostly a man of well-balanced leisure time. In light of this, I have taken all of the opportunities available to get out and enjoy the outdoors before the UK winter really closes in. One such recent trip to a park actually gave me an idea and got me thinking very deeply.
On observing my toddler’s differentiation between the concept of a dog (that he sees in books) and an actual dog (that he encounters in the local park) I began thinking on ideation and belief. At the same time, I have become more concerned with monotheistic ideas and the impact of religion. I will return to my son’s fascination with canine creatures later but first I’ll touch on what increased ‘belief’ in science means for people nowadays.
Religion and science have a long and complicated relationship, to say the least. Science is concerned with the study of the natural world only whereas religions contend with both the natural and supernatural. Having said that, many commentators and popular thinkers still compare the two.
The battle over ideas: Science vs Religion
Too often these days science is repeatedly brought up as a practice and body of knowledge which is then compared with religion. This is usually, although not always, to make an atheist’s point. There are also many contemporary debates that have posed science against religion, tending to proclaim science as the winner.
The ordinary British person only has to look at declining church attendance and increased secularization in the UK to find easy evidence that there is perhaps more than a grain of truth to this sentiment. However, it’s not evident to me if such atheists actually believe in science as anything more than explaining how things happen. There seems to be no indication of purpose.
Furthermore, to write off religion as some contender in a one-round match-up against scientific practice is simply preposterous. Let me elaborate. Religions have so much more of an impact on the structure of a person’s thoughts even if that person disregards religious thinking and practices entirely. Each idea a person has and any decision they make is actually structured by the legacy effects of a society’s religious makeup.
How does religion structure ideas?
Cultural norms and values have a direct impact on a person’s thinking. They shape what a person thinks is normal, just and right. The very ideas that pop into our conscious thoughts each day are not generated out of blank nothingness. They emerge from our subconscious. That silent and ever-present witness to both our own dreams and the uncomfortable realities of daily existence.
The thinking behind and actual mechanisms of organized religion underpin the common law that was spread around the world under the British Empire. This law helped shaped culture and societal values as they developed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
Whilst initially resisted in certain regions, the fundamental ideas of liberal democracy and free-market capitalism took root across the world. The point is, that whilst science and progress are increasingly important, religion cannot simply be considered redundant.
What about belief in God?
I learned something from my son’s newfound knowledge of what a dog is. I observed his enjoyment in seeing its representations and overwhelming joy when he encounters the real thing. If he never saw an actual dog he would have a vastly limited conception of what a dog is. He would only have his idea of ‘dog’, generated from drawings, cartoons and other images. This would obviously be a pale imitation of the reality.
I am coming to think that religious belief in God or the supernatural elements of religious practices work in a similar way to learning what an animal is for a young mind. Without direct experience, one has a greatly diminished notion of the concept and therefore it can easily be disregarded.
Each thought that a person has can be considered as an idea; a decision is an idea of what to do next, a concept is an idea as it appears in the mind. All ideas come from the subconscious. As mentioned, the subconscious is directly affected by a society’s norms and cultural understandings. It is also greatly impacted upon by the events we experience and the things we are fortunate or unfortunate enough to encounter in the physical world.
Final Thoughts
People believe in their ideas and these ideas are generated by the inner workings of their minds, structured by the wider reality of their social world and physical surroundings.
My own thinking is that if there is a God, it is a form of all-pervasive, elemental and hidden consciousness. A consciousness that perhaps occasionally certain people have access to. Continuing this line of thought, the direct experience is interpreted in different ways in different cultures and that is what has given rise to the huge variety in world religions today.
One last point is that I assume that there must be people of faith who have had no direct access and still believe (that is all of them to an atheists mind). I will delve into the power of belief in a different post but let me just say it is far better to believe in something than to believe that there is nothing.
The funniest is how it is the atheists who are most obsessed with God – even though it is through denial! Shows, as you said, how much impact religion/God has whether you will or not..
Very much enjoyed this post and entirely agree on your views of god if one exists. Nicely put.