# Do some people NEED faith? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 9, 2013, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810 "2013-08-09T15:49:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/41 "2013-08-11T22:21:35Z")
Many people can’t get around without crutches, or even wheelchairs. But what’s very sad are the able-bodied people who have convinced themselves that they’re unable to walk on their own. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/42 "2013-08-12T12:37:22Z")
As others have mentioned, _confidence_ is not _faith_. The sun will rise tomorrow, I can walk this tightrope, I can make this shot, people will treat each other correctly, this hamburger will not poison me, the state has no evidence against me and they know it, those are examples of confidence. That the Universe will somehow balance out the evil with good, is faith. There is a transcendent plane beyond these dimensions, is faith. There is a greater purpose and meaning and direction to existence that goes beyond our human interactions, is faith. And we do not have hangtags or license plates that identify which of us are “able bodied” in the non-physical sense of our lives. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/43 "2013-08-12T12:41:26Z")
I don’t know about needing _faith_, but I am convinced some people need religion. You know those folks who say that they cannot accept that an atheist can be a moral person? The ones who say that they would commit all sorts of mayhem if they ever believed that God was not watching and judging? God created religion to keep those folks in line. ---
**Author:** ![Renee\_RL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7c8e57/32.png) [@Renee\_RL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee_RL)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/44 "2013-08-12T15:42:26Z")
I don’t mean to be disrespectful of religious people…but god is to adults, what Santa is to kids. They are judged, they get rewarded or punished. I think it is a need for people to have an authority figure, ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/45 "2013-08-12T17:01:26Z")
Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds > **[Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds](https://news.yahoo.com/religious-people-are-less-intelligent-than-atheists--study-finds--113350723.html#upCr476)** > > Religious people are less intelligent than non-believers, according to a new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/46 "2013-08-12T18:08:50Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds > > [Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds](http://news.yahoo.com/religious-people-are-less-intelligent-than-atheists--study-finds--113350723.html#upCr476) My first reaction, upon reading this post, was “Oh no, not this again.” But, for some reason I actually checked the link, and found that it was to (1) a new article, that (2) is actually quite relevant to this thread’s topic. According to the article, it’s not just that religious people are less intelligent than atheists, it’s that **intelligent people tend to be less religious, because they tend to have less _need_ for religion**. Or so the theory goes. > [@](#): > > The paper, published in the academic journal Personality and Social Psychology Review, said “Most extant explanations (of a negative relation) share one central theme—the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who “know better.” > > The answer may, however, be more complex. Intelligent people may simply be able to provide themselves with the psychological benefits offered by religion - such as “self-regulation and self-enhancement,” because they are more likely to be successful, and have stable lives. In fact, there’s something almost Biblical about this point of view. [QUOTE=Jesus] Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3) Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners. (Mark 2:17) It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. (Mark 10:25) [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/47 "2013-08-12T19:27:55Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > [Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds](http://news.yahoo.com/religious-people-are-less-intelligent-than-atheists--study-finds--113350723.html#upCr476) [**The same story**](http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/08/new-meta-analysis-checks-the-correlation-between-intelligence-and-faith/) with more detail and a graph of the relationship between countries’ belief in a god and national average is on Ars Technica. ---
**Author:** ![ruben4ruben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@ruben4ruben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruben4ruben)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/48 "2013-08-13T03:08:03Z")
We have seen what great utopias those nations have become that banned or restricted all kinds of faith. Wonderful places where everybody wanted to live and stay! And the best places to live today are surely not those nations that have a constitution based on that dreadful bible book. No the best places to live are those _other_ nations. Those are the paradises on the planet. Seriously, i don’t think people need faith. They need both faith and reason. And i can say people do need _hope._ Someone who just believes for believing something is easily fooled and abused. **Proverbs 14:15** The bible says it’s foolish to believe everything you hear. Besides, most religion is a racket and harmful. Know what you believe and believe what you know. **1 Thessalonians 5:21** Otherwise you might probably be better off as an atheist for the time being. ---
**Author:** ![ruben4ruben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@ruben4ruben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruben4ruben)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/49 "2013-08-13T03:16:22Z")
PS If Atheists are more intelligent or the more intelligent of us tend to be atheists…why are there no atheist utopias? Where are they?? Why do so many successful people have some kind of faith in something we can’t see? Why are the very most intelligent people on this planet ruining it and literally killing nature? When are the atheist scientist elite gonna take over and save the planet? Did i miss anything? This intellect study is just another case of “inspired” flattery. “You are smart and special because you don’t believe in God and vice versa.” I’m not buying it, sorry. I meet all kinds of atheists on a weekly basis and trust me, they are not disproportionately more intelligent. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/50 "2013-08-13T03:23:51Z")
> [@ruben4ruben](#): > > PS If Atheists are more intelligent or the more intelligent of us tend to be atheists…why are there no atheist utopias? Because the religious are told by their gods to kill them. You can look it up in the Bible. ---
**Author:** ![ruben4ruben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8c91f0/32.png) [@ruben4ruben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruben4ruben)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/51 "2013-08-13T03:48:51Z")
> [@Kenm](#): > > Because the religious are told by their gods to kill them. You can look it up in the Bible. China is there for you to move to. How happy the people are! all those people that pay fortunes to get foreign passports or enter Hong Kong most be religious fools. Why don’t you move to China and debate with us from the freedom of that Utopia? Nobody killed the Soviet Union, how happy they were! Or did a horde of religious barbarians cause the Soviet Union to end? I’m sure you have a theory of how an intellectual hotspot freed from the god-fable failed. Cambodia also became an atheist utopia as soon as they embraced atheism as part of their communist reform. How happy the people were! North Korea, another lovely atheist utopia still standing! Why don’t you move there and share your experience with us? No bibles, no gods, just reason and progress! How happy the people are!! Atheist nations are the places where the best of humanity is free to blossom. Bon voyage! ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/52 "2013-08-13T04:17:05Z")
> [@ruben4ruben](#): > > Atheist nations are the places where the best of humanity is free to blossom. > Bon voyage! If that is so, why did you ask? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/53 "2013-08-13T04:23:44Z")
> [@MyFootsZZZ](#): > > **Do some people NEED faith?** Only in the sense that junkies need heroin. That does not mean it is any **good** for them. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/54 "2013-08-13T04:25:10Z")
> [@ruben4ruben](#): > > Besides, most religion is a racket and harmful. Especially Jehovah’s Witnesses. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/55 "2013-08-13T04:26:16Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > Especially Jehovah’s Witnesses. And not only harmful, but **annoying.** ---
**Author:** ![Razncain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9d8465/32.png) [@Razncain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Razncain)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2013, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/56 "2013-08-13T22:03:22Z")
> [@ruben4ruben](#): > > We have seen what great utopias those nations have become that banned or restricted all kinds of faith. Wonderful places where everybody wanted to live and stay! No such thing as a utopia. Many religious people claim such a place awaits them after this life is over with, but I don’t see any in a hurry to get there, do you? > [@](#): > > If Atheists are more intelligent or the more intelligent of us tend to be atheists…why are there no atheist utopias? Where are they?? There are none for the same reason there is no theocratic utopias. Again, see above. No, stop looking up at the sky, I mean see above, as in my post. > [@](#): > > China is there for you to move to. How happy the people are! all those people that pay fortunes to get foreign passports or enter Hong Kong most be religious fools. Why don’t you move to China and debate with us from the freedom of that Utopia? Perhaps, I’ll consider it if America ever becomes a Christian nation and like Iran declares itself a theocracy. The Chinese seem happy. But I’m happy here too along with a capitalistic system. Have you ever been there, or know of others that have? And why is it virtually all economists say China will over take America as the number one economic superpower within the next decade or two? Not bad for mostly a godless nation, eh? And what economic system you think best described Jesus’ philosophy, a capitalistic system or a socialist one? Have you ever been to many of the godless nations of Europe? In quite a few countries the godless outnumber the theists. Why do they seem to be getting along quite well, and unless my eyes deceive me, they seem quite content and happy as any other folk. Does it bother you if they are? Better yet, pack your bags full of bibles, feed and water your ass, and let’s see if your ass can dog paddle to Iran. I want to read about you in the Sunday funny papers of what they did to you after you told them about JC. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/57 "2013-08-15T15:04:12Z")
We humans have faith, hope, and love built into us. That is the way we are, gregarious, social beings. If skepticism is the opposite of faith, trust. then if we humans could get rid of all our faith and trust we would become stark raving mad. Insane paranoia. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/58 "2013-08-15T15:14:56Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The question isn’t “Do some people need Faith?” > > It’s "Why do some people avoid the word “me”? I’m not sure what you mean by this? ---
**Author:** ![TheSeaOtter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed655f/32.png) [@TheSeaOtter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheSeaOtter)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/59 "2013-08-15T15:37:58Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > I don’t know about needing _faith_, but I am convinced some people need religion. You know those folks who say that they cannot accept that an atheist can be a moral person? The ones who say that they would commit all sorts of mayhem if they ever believed that God was not watching and judging? > > God created religion to keep those folks in line. Substitute ‘People’ for ‘God’ in that last line, and you have the view I hold - religion is a remarkably good tool for controlling people. Especially the people who, as you say, _need_ an all-seeing deity watching and judging them in order to conform to a moral code. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810/60 "2013-08-15T15:50:05Z")
[Current list of the world’s tallest statues](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statues_by_height). Note the number of Buddhist ones in China, put up after 1949. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-people-need-faith/665810.md?page=4)