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Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - C C - Jul 4, 2022
https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2022/07/04/believing-in-supernatural-punishments-affects-us-more-deeply-than-we-think/
EXCERPTS: A new study published in Current Opinion in Psychology [...] According to Singh and co-author Léo Fitouchi, supernatural beliefs can control us because they bypass what they term ‘epistemic vigilance,’ or the lens through which humans evaluate the reliability of information communicated by others.
“If I tell you, for example, that a given food item is poisoned, I may be providing true and useful information or I may be trying to manipulate you to keep more food for myself,” says Fitouchi. “So, you need psychological mechanisms to evaluate whether the information other people provide is true or not.”
Both Singh and Fitouchi highlight that negatively weighted beliefs such as the threat of punishment are most likely to bypass our epistemic vigilance.
“Studies suggest that people are predisposed to believe that wrongdoers are more likely to suffer misfortunes — which is exactly what supernatural punishment beliefs claim,” informs Fitouchi. “People are also more likely to accept threatening beliefs, such as warnings against eternal damnation in hell.”
Taking this into account, Singh and Fitouchi demonstrate that supernatural punishment beliefs are especially prevalent in cultures that possess a strong social desire to control others. Typically, these cultures exhibit what the researchers term ‘cultural tightness’ — meaning they have rigid social norms.
Although this may sound bleak, their findings reveal that the belief in supernatural punishment can produce positive outcomes for society... MORE - missing details)
RELATED: Belief in hell, according to international data, is associated with reduced crime ..... UBC-led study finds beliefs about all-knowing gods fosters co-operation ..... Different views of God may influence academic cheating
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - Magical Realist - Jul 4, 2022
Forcing children to believe in a God who reputedly loves them but will burn them in hell forever if they don't love him back has probably done more psychological damage to them than any other implanted meme imo. It takes years of refreshing worldly godlessness to heal the largely unconscious scars of such an insane belief system. It's probably the biggest reason why religion in the Western world is so drastically on the decline:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_Christianity_in_the_Western_world#:~:text=In%202020%2C%2047%25%20of%20Americans,decreased%20by%202%20million%20people.
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - Syne - Jul 4, 2022
Unaffiliated, non-church-going, and nones can all still believe in God. Pretending that such stats mean a decline in religious belief is wishful thinking.
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - Zinjanthropos - Jul 5, 2022
Quote: Studies suggest that people are predisposed to believe that wrongdoers are more likely to suffer misfortunes — which is exactly what supernatural punishment beliefs claim,” informs Fitouchi. “People are also more likely to accept threatening beliefs, such as warnings against eternal damnation in hell.
This is just the same as believing good will be rewarded…I guess the evil opposite side is more sensational. What a waste of time.
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - confused2 - Jul 7, 2022
I just didn't think god was a credible thing from the age of about 5. Opened eyes during prayers - nothing happened. All the other kids had their eyes closed except one who reported me for having my eyes open and (to my great satisfaction) got slapped for it.
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - Syne - Jul 7, 2022
What religion believes something untoward is supposed to happen when you open your eyes during prayer?
Not anything Biblical I've ever heard of.
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - Zinjanthropos - Jul 7, 2022
(Jul 7, 2022 01:25 AM)confused2 Wrote: one who reported me for having my eyes open got slapped for it.
Physically abused by parents isn’t too bad when compared to the guillotine……
https://people.howstuffworks.com/why-do-people-close-eyes-to-pray.htm
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - Magical Realist - Jul 8, 2022
When me and my family were Baptists, my mother had her first manic episode from bipolar disorder. She actually stood up in church during the sermon and proclaimed that Judas was her brother. Her belief, contrary to the eternal damnation doctrine of the church, was that nobody was going to hell and that everyone would be saved. She later believed the sheer joy of this realization contributed to her mental breakdown. It wouldn't surprise me. The extremes we go to to escape ideological programming can be as taxing and destructive as the delusion itself.
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - confused2 - Jul 8, 2022
(Jul 8, 2022 04:37 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: When me and my family were Baptists, my mother had her first manic episode from bipolar disorder. She actually stood up in church during the sermon and proclaimed that Judas was her brother. Her belief, contrary to the eternal damnation doctrine of the church, was that nobody was going to hell and that everyone would be saved. She later believed the sheer joy of this realization contributed to her mental breakdown. It wouldn't surprise me. The extremes we go to to escape ideological programming can be as taxing and destructive as the delusion itself.I think it would be helpful if it were generally accepted by organised religions that the organisation and/or the religion itself can be a problem for some people. Choosing a publication at random - ' Coercive persuasion (brainwashing), religious cults, and deprogramming ' ( https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/420323/ ) - I haven't read it - my point is that it addresses the zone occupied by organised and/or cult religions.
Sorry to hear about your mother - did she get help or did she kind'a (edited) have to fight through it on her own?
RE: Believing in supernatural punishments affects us more deeply than we think - Syne - Jul 9, 2022
(Jul 8, 2022 04:37 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: When me and my family were Baptists, my mother had her first manic episode from bipolar disorder. She actually stood up in church during the sermon and proclaimed that Judas was her brother. Her belief, contrary to the eternal damnation doctrine of the church, was that nobody was going to hell and that everyone would be saved. She later believed the sheer joy of this realization contributed to her mental breakdown. It wouldn't surprise me. The extremes we go to to escape ideological programming can be as taxing and destructive as the delusion itself.
So the mental illness runs in the family. Perhaps not the best yardstick of the average person's reaction to religion.