Where do atheists come from?

[ibis]

"religion is the opium of the masses"

Which in itself recognises exactly what I'm saying. Religion is the opium of the masses - atheism is the choice of very few. There has to be a reason for that if atheism is logically the default position.

It's not sufficient to say that religion is a dominant social force because it has been a dominant social force, because no other equally dominant social pattern has lasted in such a way, and the thesis of 'social inertia' to explain religion's prevalence begs the question of how it became prevalent in the first place.

[idontgethangovers]

Which in itself recognises exactly what I'm saying. Religion is the opium of the masses - atheism is the choice of very few. There has to be a reason for that if atheism is logically the default position.

It's not sufficient to say that religion is a dominant social force because it has been a dominant social force, because no other equally dominant social pattern has lasted in such a way, and the thesis of 'social inertia' to explain religion's prevalence begs the question of how it became prevalent in the first place.

People are religious because they are instilled with it from a very young age. If you want to see the natural state of belief wait till your kids are adults before attempting to indoctrinate them. As I said there are no christian children, just children of christian parents.

[ibis]

People are religious because they are instilled with it from a very young age. If you want to see the natural state of belief wait till your kids are adults before attempting to indoctrinate them. As I said there are no christian children, just children of christian parents.

It's an insufficient explanation. The children of atheists become religious - and the children of the religious become atheists. Clearly early indoctrination, or the lack of it, is an insufficient explanation for even a generation, let alone the millennia for which being religious has been the standard condition of nearly everybody.

Like I said, there's no point in claiming social programming, because social programming hasn't kept alive any social system over millennia...except where that social system is an integral part of religion (as per the caste system in India).

[idontgethangovers]

Darwin "god bless him" (joke in case you dont get it), proved to the world the lack of any need for a "GOD" father figure, and if uou understand what he thought the world you can even understand the scientific reason for any gaps in present day understanding of anything in the universe. The need for a reason to exist,hence god, is a fallacy. We are a natural computation in the fabric of the universe. It is our own self belief that we are so important, with no evidence, that requires people to look for a higher purpose.Its all about ego, and we have tonnes of it

[jdaly]

Do you think reality is defined by those who believe it or that there are those who simply accept reality for what it is?

What is reality and is your reality the same as that of a butterfly or an elephant? Is your reality the same as mine?