Last night, Wifeshui was assailed by nausea thanks to some dodgy prawn sandwiches she encountered at a wedding over the weekend. I spent the night in great distress – there’s nothing one can really do in such a situation, but the need to somehow assist, the desire to “make it better” is phenomenally strong. So it was that I found myself contemplating reiki, acupressure and even prayer in the desperate hope that these irrational idiocies would maybe help my beloved to recover (in my defence I’m currently suffering from a stinking head cold, so my mental faculties are not presently at their peak…)

Anyway, this prompted me to consider something that has been on my mind for a couple of days now, namely, the emotional need for religion. One of the reasons it’s so hard to debate faith with the faithful is that they have a hefty emotional investment in continuing to believe. I think I can narrow this down to four main factors, although I invite readers to suggest any others they come up with:

The need to make a difference

This is precisely what I was experiencing last night. In a world largely beyond our personal control, faith grants the illusion that we can somehow affect our surroundings. Thus, quackery substitutes for medicine, hippy nonsense masquerades as science and prayer fills in for politics. The irony, of course, is that these things are actually disempowering activities. When we choose to apply our time and effort to a faith-based solution rather than a practical one, we give up all hope of achieving any form of change, and abandon ourselves to the whims of fate. Unfettered by such ideas, atheists and humanists can apply themselves to a course of action that will actually make a difference – lobbying their MP, organising a petition, staging a rally, finding a new drug, developing new technology or (in my case last night) making a cup of tea…

The need to feel loved

The idea of an all-powerful superbeing who cares specifically for you and takes a personal interest in everything you do (a “sky-daddy”, to use the popular phrase) is an attractive one. Who doesn’t want to be loved unconditionally? Okay, maybe not completely unconditionally – you have to believe in a specific dogma (varying from sect to sect), and there are certain rules you can’t break – but in the Christian tradition at least, you have the opportunity of being loved forever, and that’s a powerful draw.

The love of a non-existent deity, however, is a worthless thing. How does God show his love? By making the occasional statue cry? By revealing himself in food products? Or perhaps by destroying cities and slaughtering thousands? Oh, Christians will trot out the old, “He sent His Son to die on the cross,” line, but in order to accept that you have to be onboard with the idea of God’s existence in the first place, and as Brian recently pointed out so succinctly, it’s not like it made a lot of difference…

If you want to be loved, seek the love of other humans (of, if you’re a total social inadequate, buy a puppy.) They can express their love in tangible terms, in ways you can see and feel.

The need to escape death

This one’s a biggie. Evo recently put up a good post on this topic, which is worth a read. Essentially, people fear death. It’s a difficult thing to accept that the little bundle of opinions, ideas, prejudices, feelings and musings that make you unique will one day cease to be, and so any belief system offering a get-out clause is guaranteed to attract its fair share of adherents.

If you don’t like the idea of being gone and forgotten, then do something memorable! Leave a legacy! Make the world a better place, so that people in years to come will remember you with gratitude and pride. Try not to be remembered for blowing stuff up or genocide, though, it won’t make you popular.

The need to be instructed

“Tired of thinking for yourself? Fed up with making your own decisions? You need NEW Religo-Faith™! Our dedicated staff will tell you what to do, when to do it, and even how to clean up afterwards! Order now, and we’ll throw in a FREE extra commandment or prohibition, especially for you! Religo-Faith™ – because thinking is such a drag!”

People don’t like thinking. Sad but true. Apathy has been with us for our entire history, and for every person who stands up and revolutionises our world, there are countless hundreds who sit in front of the TV eating Quavers. One of the strengths of faith is that it can mobilise people by letting them off the hook where thought is concerned. Belief negates the need to work out your life for yourself; just “leave it in God’s hands” and you can go back to watching the football.

I don’t think I need to explain why this is A Bad Thing.

The psychological crutch which religion provides is a powerful support, but in the end unnecessary. People can stand unaided, as I and my fellow faithfreeists prove on a daily basis. Perhaps a form of mental physiotherapy is required before all belief can be abandoned, but I can assure all religionists of one, certain thing – you don’t need it.

***edit: Gregory has just put up a post on the same topic (see comments section below) – here’s the link!***