Are we heading towards a godless society?

Deep down NOBODY believes in religion, claims controversial author

No one believes God exists because it is a 'preposterous' idea, according to Graham Lawton, author of a new book on the human existence.

Mr Lawton argues people want to believe religious claims because they have a 'God-shaped conceptual space waiting to be filled'.  But deep down people don't actually think it's true - not even priests and nuns.

The controversial author suggests that as our lives become more stable, society could become more 'godless' as our need for religion fades away.

Mr Lawton argues people believe religious claims because we have a 'God-shaped conceptual space waiting to be filled' but deep down people don't actually think it's true (stock image)

A GODLESS FUTURE?

Graham Lawton suggests that as our lives become more stable, society could become 'godless' as our need for religion fades away. When children encounter religion, Mr Lawson argues they find the explanations it offers intuitively appealing and believable - making them born believers - but this instinct is drummed out of them by education.

The author claimed the reason people continue to be believe it because 'they haven't thought that hard about it'.  However, although the future will be increasingly secular, humans will never totally lose the god instinct.

As long as existential uncertainty exists Mr Lawton claims religion will not disappear completely - even though he believes some of the things in the bible are 'just crazy'.

People cling onto moral guidance and existential comfort and they don't let go of them easily, he said. 

In 'How to be Human', Mr Lawton analyses the strange things that make us human - including human's propensity to find religion attractive, arguing that it is the default path of the human mind. 

His comments are supported by studies into the cognitive theory of religion which suggests having faith is an evolutionary advantage.

Mr Lawton, who wrote the book with New Scientist Editor-at-Large Jeremy Webb, has a degree in biochemistry from Imperial College. 'If you ask quite religious people about the claims that are made by religion - like the fact that god's watching you - they don't really believe that', said Mr Lawton.

The author claimed the reason people continue to be believe it because 'they haven't thought that hard about it'. Although people accept there is a god and an afterlife, not even theological experts like priests actually believe the factual content of religion, he claimed.  

'This is because it's preposterous - some of the things that are in the bible are just crazy’.  

Mr Lawton has previously written about the possibility of a godless future, arguing that as life gets more comfortable the religious impulse loosens.

He believes that as our lives become more secure the dread of dying or having loved ones suddenly die goes away, which makes religion drift away too. 

Graham Lawton (pictured) believes children are 'born believers' 

Religion declines not only because people are becoming richer, but also due to the increasing quality of life, decline of serious diseases, better education and welfare states, the author said.

When children encounter religion, Mr Lawton argues they find the explanations it offers intuitively appealing and believable - making them born believers. 

They presume there are mystical beings that have superknowledge and immortality until they learn otherwise.   

Children like the idea that there is order and design in the world and it is actually useful as it allows them to reason about possible threats that we cannot see, for example a predator lurking in a nearby bush.  This natural propensity to look for agents in the world is the building blocks for religious belief.  

The books traces our seven-million-year evolutionary journey and our key traits as humans - our generosity, disgust and why we find it so hard to stop bad habits

COGNITIVE THEORY OF RELIGION

According to studies on the cognitive theory of religion, belief could be a by-product of our cognitive equipment.

We acquire it as easily as we learn to walk and talk, with most people learning it at a young age and using it throughout life.  Our brain is primed to see meaning everywhere, which helps us make sense of random events.

Children like the idea that there is order and design in the world and it is actually useful as it allows them to reason about possible threats that we cannot see, for example a predator lurking in a nearby bush. According to Mr Lawton, although this is an evolutionary advantage, it also facilitates the build-up of delusional belief and a ‘feeling of rightness.

'Once coupled with some other cognitive tendencies and ordinary learning strategies, they make children highly receptive to religion', said Mr Lawton.  

Although this is an evolutionary advantage, Mr Lawton believes it also facilitates the build-up of delusional belief and a ‘feeling of rightness’.

In 2011, psychologist Peter Halligan at Cardiff University found more than 90 per cent of people in the UK hold beliefs that would be classed as delusional by a psychiatrist.

And around half of US adults endorse at least one conspiracy theory, such as the belief a celebrity is secretly in love with you or that certain messages have special meanings hidden in them. 

'People cling onto moral guidance and existential comfort and they don't let go of them easily', said Mr

Lawton, who believes this is why humans continue to be religious even when it contradicts new evidence.  This means people can rationalise natural disasters and the unexpected death of loved ones as part of God's plan - which is part of religion it has become so powerful and appealing.

However, experiments have shown supernatural thoughts are also easy to invoke in people who consider themselves sceptics. 

'To be an actual atheist and reject all religious ideas is not humanly possible - we'll still fill that hole with something’, said Mr Lawton.

‘Asked if a man who dies instantly in a car crash is aware of this own death, large numbers instinctively answer "yes".' 

Similarly, he says people who believe people who experience setbacks in their lives routinely invoke fate, and uncanny experiences are widely attributed to paranormal activity.  The author argues although the future will be increasingly secular, humans will never totally lose the god instinct. 

As long as existential uncertainty exists, Mr Lawton claims religion will not disappear completely.