Are you religious/ superstitious?

[ThomasSoerensen]

They grow up and stay with Jesus and know Barney is fictional. Try and make better arguments.

They only do not know jesus's accomplishments are fictional because no authoritative person to them withholds this crucial piece of information.

[Platypus]

Strong religious belief is a mental illness that the human species is particular prone to - some evolutionary scientists are just beginning to understand how it used to confer advantage to the species when it was in hunter-gatherer mode

Your own statement is contradictory. I don't see how an illness can be an evolved trait.

IMO it's certainly an evolved trait. In the same way that fear of the dark is an evolved trait.

Surely you wouldn't call fear of the dark a mental illness?

[SupremeSpod]

Its the natural psychological response to being challenged over your innermost beliefs, the very core of your being.
Imagine living your life based on a lie - it just can't be possible and so the brain invents amazing justifications for the twaddle it believes in.
Strong religious belief is a mental illness that the human species is particular prone to - some evolutionary scientists are just beginning to understand how it used to confer advantage to the species when it was in hunter-gatherer mode, but possibly does not do so any more.

Interesting, who are these scientists and where are their papers published?

[ThomasSoerensen]

Your own statement is contradictory. I don't see how an illness can be an evolved trait.

IMO it's certainly an evolved trait. In the same way that fear of the dark is an evolved trait.

Surely you wouldn't call fear of the dark a mental illness?

Believing what your parents (authorities) tell you when you are a child is an evolved trait that in many cases are beneficial and is part in the success we as a species have had.

the mental illness comes in when the parents exploit this trait to feed you lies and they never tell you the are lies. Then the child becomes delusional, believein the lies, and that is the mental illness.

[contractor79]

For once I agree with Kandr. The idea that someone must have some horrible skeleton in the closet that makes them reject the notion of a magical being in the sky is really quite pathetic.

No it's not. It very much explains the behaviour. There is a rather well known atheist writer out there who was abused by a teacher at the religious school he attended. That is very sad but we must wonder why people don't repeat this obvious connection.

[contractor79]

Believing what your parents (authorities) tell you when you are a child is an evolved trait that in many cases are beneficial and is part in the success we as a species have had.

the mental illness comes in when the parents exploit this trait to feed you lies and they never tell you the are lies. Then the child becomes delusional, believein the lies, and that is the mental illness.

see, a hatred of parents sharing their values and beliefs with their children, and traditional parenting comes screeching through this post

[ThomasSoerensen]

In many countries, conversion is the main way people become Christians rather than parental influence. There are lots of countries where it is not the cultural norm to be Christian, and indeed where parents or even towns will dis-own people who convert.

These countries are mainly very poor countries with very poor and uneducated people.

They are easy targets.

Please show me adult conversion rates from developed countries and for people with higher to medium education. I do not believe these are significant.

[Platypus]

Interesting, who are these scientists and where are their papers published?

David Sloan Wilson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Darwin's Cathedral: Evolution, Religion and the Nature of Society: Amazon.co.uk: DS Wilson: Books

EDIT: also http://evolution.binghamton.edu/religion/

[ThomasSoerensen]

see, a hatred of parents sharing their values and beliefs with their children, and traditional parenting comes screeching through this post

there is no hared towards anyone

I was merely trying to explicitly create the link to mental illness.

No hatred, but a bit of astonishment at parents lack of critical thinking.

[contractor79]

These countries are mainly very poor countries with very poor and uneducated people.

They are easy targets.

Even easier targets for your atheist lies, since your worldview is an empty shell. Fail.