In my opinion, there are three fundamental reasons why people believe in religion.
The first factor is the human predilection for anthropomorphism. See '#TL05AB: ANTHROPOMORPHISM AND RELATED PHENOMENA' <http://www.buildfreedom.com/tl/tl05ab.htm>.
[The above was inspired by the book 'Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion' by Stewart Guthrie -- mentioned on this list some months ago.]
The second factor is what remains in the human brain and psyche from our "bicameral heritage." See 'The Other Side of Religion' <http://www.buildfreedom.com/otherside.htm>, with particular emphasis on 'Appendix - The Biological Basis for Religion.'
The third factor can be inferred from Al Siebert's book, 'Peaking Out: How My Mind Broke Free from the Delusions of Psychiatry.' It could be called the "aggrandized-noun" phenomenon. It derives from Melanie Klein's insight she called the "good-mother/bad-mother split": "...each infant experiences two different beings in its life -- a good, powerful, nurturing, comforting, all-knowing being and a bad, hurting, dangerous one." [Look up "Melanie Klein" in the Index.]
These factors may also illuminate why certain memes are more powerful than others.
Frederick Mann
-- -------------------------------------------------------------- Best Freedom Site on the Web - <http://www.buildfreedom.com/>. Freedom/Liberty Portal - <http://www.buildfreedom.com/ft/>. International Libertarian Network, USA Coordinator -
<http://maxpages.com/libertarian>.
Freedom & Financial Independence Lists -
<http://www.buildfreedom.com/ourlists.htm>.
--------------------------------------------------------------