Why do people believe in God?

[wnylib]

56. I also have nothing against atheists.

They are totally free to not believe in any religion or religious ideas like a Supreme Being of any kind. Makes no difference to me. I have no interest whatever in proselytizing. I go a step further and say that if they want to express their views and ridicule religion in the General Discussion forum or other forums on DU, that's their right, just as it's my right to express my views or ridicule theirs if I want to, which I don't. I just wish that DU had a forum that would be the equivalent of the atheist forum, to serve as a haven for people of religious belief to talk freely without ridicule or attack.

Not having a haven like that leaves out a large chunk of Democratic party members. It creates an impression that you have to be an atheist in order to be a Democrat. I don't think that we can afford to cut off and shut out the votes and donations of liberal and progressive religious people without hurting ourselves politically.

I agree that belief in a god is sometimes basically feeling a connection to something greater than the self. People can find that in an occupation, hobby, non religious organization, or in belief in a god, with or without religion. People can be spiritual but not religious. Some people can find spirituality in religion. Others don't.

I grew up in religiously liberal Protestant denomination. That is not the same as a politically liberal denomination. When used as a religious term, liberalism means a metaphorical interpretation or understanding of religious faith rather than a literal approach to it. It also means taking into account the historical context of religious writings and traditions and accepting that people and religions grow and change.

So my religious background was not the negative one that some people have expressed on DU as their experience. I can understand that a negative experience would sour them on religion and a concept of God. But then they generalize that as if it applies to, or should apply to, every person and every religion. If they want to reject religion because of their experience, that's their right and decision. But that does not give them the right to push their view on me any more than I would have a right to push my views on them. But expressing a view in the course of a conversation is not the same as aggressively pushing a view on someone.

There are some atheists who are just as in-your-face dogmatic about not having a dogma as Jehovah's Witnesses are in their conviction that they have to push their beliefs into the faces of others. But I don't generalize that to all atheists because that would be inaccurate in my experience. I know many atheists whom I like, respect, and can agree with on a variety of topics and issues. As I see it, they have their views and I have mine. Anyone who is sincerely comfortable with their view on religion, whether atheist or religious, does not need to attack others for their views.