Why do so many choose to ignore reason and rely on faith to guide them?

It’s easier.

Because, along with brains, we have feelings and emotions for a reason. A balance is best.

Faith isn’t being devoid of reason. A devoid of reason is more in line with not understanding a concept and refusing to try because it is alien to what you are use to. Faith is only accepting that there is things greater than one’s self, without having to have it caught tagged andcut to ribbons in a lab first. Looking at the broader view.

For a lot of people, I’m sure it boils down to the fact that religion enables people to not have to think. They can blindly follow, never questioning anything. It makes life easier for a lot of people. Now, before any religious people get mad at me, I’m not saying this is the case for all religious people. I’m strictly speaking about the many religious people that I have personally met and interacted with.

I also think it’s a comfort thing for many who choose to believe. No one wants to believe that when they’re dead, they’re dead and they’ll never see their loved ones again. Many religions also tend to present things in a black and white manner – which is appealing to people because the gray areas get too confusing for a lot of people. Compartmentalizing people is easier and makes more “sense” for some.

I also think that when many people believe things happen for a reason, it enables them to get through hard times a little easier. With some kind of divine plan, the bad might not seem quite so bad anymore.

I dont know dude:)

I was writing a whole long answer and then I looked up @Ghost_in_the_system answer and I think he said it perfectly. And in a lot less words then I my answer too. Damn :)

Everyone has a different threshold for reason and rationalization. With any subject, there is a point where you cannot comprehend why exactly something is the way it is, and you just have believe that it’s just so. Each person has a different set point, and it differs by subject matter.

I do and here’s my basic reasoning:
The universe is just too complex to have “Just happened” (check out the pictures that the Hubble Deep Space Telescope has taken and if you have taken anatomy you know how amazing the human body is), so there has to be a Creator. This Creator obviously made me and so He has complete power over me. He also has a plan for my life and will help me make decisions that work toward this plan if I have faith in Him. And if I also know that he has a plan and everything that happens in my life will work out for His glory in the end.
Pick that apart and debate all you want but that’s my thinking.

Faith allows the weak reason to exist.
In a world of control freaks an megalomaniacs.

To some, faith is part of their reasoning. Faith in something is reasoned to make sense and explain things. It’s not that people of faith don’t have reason. They don’t ignore reason. Their reason validates their faith.

Did what I just wrote make any freaking sense? It was horribly written.

No reason.

@ubersiren It made sense to me. I just showed that my reason validates my faith.

@PandoraBoxx I don’t think there is a point where one necessarily stops comprehending and relies exclusively on faith—only if there is a problem with one’s ability to understand certain subjects, or perhaps at the cutting edge of scientific research. One can comprehend many subjects and could increase his/her comprehension by learning more about them. Religion is unique in this regard. It relies initially and ultimately on faith. I am being somewhat of the devil’s advocate and realize we can’t understand everything, but I think it is extremely relevant to the question of faith, where one must absolutely make that leap.

I totally forgot something important in my answer (it’s too late to change it) – I forgot to say that I don’t ignore all reason. I do use common sense. I just have faith that there is a master plan and that someone is in control of my life.

Even the most fundamentalist Christians I’ve encountered don’t only rely on faith alone.

To me, faith is necessary because people are scared to admit that they have no control over anything in their lives, that they really don’t know anything for sure. If one can have faith in something, place one’s responsibilities and ideas in the hands of something/someone else, then one never has to confront the meaninglessness and purposelessness of existence.

I have faith in nothing. I know nothing. I face the darkness everyday and I laugh in it’s face.

I’m agnostic because I feel that whoever made this universe was too lazy to program anything beyond the quantum level. Why else do all the laws break down at this point. And dont say string theory. However I am a avid preacher of the scientific method and common sense.

@Ghost_in_the_system said it best so far. The major misconception is that reason and faith don’t mix…. which is simply inaccurate.

@Ghost_in_the_system I think that you just illustrated the difference between “devout” and “zealous”.

@tinyfaery Lucky you! I wish I were so fortunate.

@jerv I also cry. <shrug>

Perhaps humans are just more lazy then they realize. Or it could be that it is voluntary helplessness, which is kind of like being lazy in a sense. Yes, I agree that it is irrational, but so is their God. I believe that a major benefactor that play in the role of religious belief systems is the fact that “god” works in “mysterious ways”, thus, helplessness. Having faith ties into religion, and that faith is believing in the fact that the “god” will do what ever is just because “they/he/she/it” is just.

Also, another factor that might have to be taken into account is the fact that maybe it is a lot easier to cope with when everything around you happens because of “divine intervention”.

But that’s just my logical guess. Could you imagine a world without hypothetical situations?

Who says religious people ignore reason? Its would be unreasonable to assume that the whole world should follow one train of thought. Even without religious faith, people have taken leaps of faith when they have no real control over things. So the question can be applied anytime you decide to trust your gut or trust your feelings or trust your faith.
People take a leap of faith when they marry, or even when they have children, or when they purchase a home in this bad economy. If we never take a leap of faith we don’t move on or improve in our lives.

I think some of it has to do with the idea that some people must have answers. Hard for these people to accept we don’t know yet, so they chalk it up to God. Don’t know why the sky is blue, God created it. Used to think plague was caused by the devil; nope, it is a bacteria.

Also, I can see how if you are raised with religion it would be scary to stop believing, especially Christianity and some others, since all sorts of horrible punishment might happen. I get the idea that some people don’t even know it is an option, because they live in a place where everyone thinks similarly.

Some of it is being uneducated. I mean anyone who thinks the bible is the very word or God, and that people who interpret it today understand each literal word correctly just makes no sense. Anyone knows that in translation meaning is lost, and the bible was not written in English originally, and it was written down years after events took place. Every elementary age old child knows the game telephone never gives you the same message from beginning to end.

I know some fairly reasonable religious people. They most importantly believe in God, but do not follow their religion necessarily to the letter. They do not ignore science, because there might be a conflict in the bible.

Why does a cat shit in a catbox? Because if it didn’t it would get it’s ass beat. Duh. It’s not natural for a cat to do that…it is an outdoor shitter from way back before even like 1960. And then what? We gods bring cats into our house and make them shit in a box. From that point forward they think of us as gods and go to cat church on Sunday. Now you know why traveling cat boxes were invented. So they can go to church, worship us and shit in a box. If they don’t shit in a box we cut off their nuts well we don’t. We have the church elder “vets” do it. Questions answered? Good.

Pretty good thread on this subject right here.

Everything is way easier when you tell yourself that everything that happens is beyond your power to do anything about it…whether that’s true or not. Easier to accept things, rather than to try and comprehend them and then accept it.
I mean that’s just damn depressing.

You’re wrong @Polly_Math everyone comes to their conclusions for a reason. Faith is not on par with logic, it is the product of it.

@Symbeline Interestingly, I have heard people say that people pray to God so they feel like they are doing something in times of trouble. Makes them feel they have some power in a situation. That a belief in God and prayer is doing more than nothing. Not saying I agree, just I think these ideas can get all twisted, justified, rationalized.

@JLeslie Yeah, but feeling isn’t understanding, which voids reason itself. Although I’m guessing that this question deals with a personal opinion of reason or logic, in which case, it would indeed apply to anyone else, religious or not.

because faith ignores reason too .

Because your parents, friends and neighbors are probably doing it. Because you were probably taught from an early age to do it. If you choose to go about it differently, and they are both sincere and doctrinaire, they will be convinced that you will go to Hell when you die if you are not brought back into the fold. This will make them upset at best and angry at your apostasy at worst.

Somewhere along the way, many of us came to realize that reason can only take you so far.

Personally speaking, my reliance on faith affords me peace of mind and a level of contentment that leaves me unconcerned with what everybody else believes or doesn’t believe.

I do not use the word faith.

I use the word trust.

Whatever we do, I do believe that we cant keep reality out of anything.

@JLeslie I am one of those people that you described. The one that belies in God but doesn’t follow a religion to the book and doesn’t ignore science. In fact, I love science!

To answer the question, I don’t know many religious people that deny science or “reason” but like with everything in life, their are the hardcore people that are easily influenced. It’s like saying “why do drug addicts keep using and ignore the fact that drugs can kill?” When you become that addicted or obsessed with something it isn’t that you refuse to see reason it is that you are unable to see reason.

As far as religio is concerned I completely agree with @Facade .

personally i think its because they dont know what else to do (in some situations)

Just to clarify, I didn’t mean that those with faith do not use reason in other parts of their lives. Perhaps I should have been more specific. I meant “ignore reason” as it applies to faith, religion, and other irrational systems of belief.

i don’t believe it is possible to ignore reason. A close examination of the way humans behave has me convinced that reason is always what forces you to behave the way you do. This applies to all animals really. As such, it is simply not possible to be “irrational.”

It is however possible to be ill-logical: You can be deceived by a fallacy to believe and act on something that isn’t true, however, to the best of your abilities you are always both believing and behaving rationally. Except in the cases of involuntary convulsions or spasms.

@Leanne1986 So are you comparing religion to an addiction when it is taken too far? I think that makes sense. They have shown that there is a “god” center in the brain. Seems you would be able to get addicted to the feeling associated with praing, meditating, or feeling one with God.

@JLeslie Yes. I have my faith and I don’t deny it but I am sometimes left bemused, confused and even disturbed by how some people’s faith has taken over any sense of logical thought and so it does remind me of an addiction. I think being able to question your religion whilst still keeping your faith is healthy, denying certain scientific facts because it doesn’t sit well with your religion isn’t healthy in my opinion and I hope that I never become one of those people.

@ChocolateReigns Yes, but why isn’t “He” a ‘She’ to you?

An illustration: Imagine there was a box that contained a reasonable, perhaps even irrefutable dis-proof of dogma belonging to a certain religion.

A pupil of that religion may have been told by his Priest that opening that box is sinful. For that reason, the pupil may never open that box on the testimony of his priest. However, it must be noted that this behavior isn’t irrational, it is reasoned and it looks like this as a syllogism:

I do not want to act sinfully
I believe (on the testimony of my priest, whom i trust) that opening the box is sinful
therefore, I do not want to open the box.

It takes the form of a valid and sound syllogism. (which is a good thing generally)
But because the testimony of the priest happens to be a lie, which the pupil is not aware of, the pupil is rationally deceived. All while believing his actions are pure and perfect.
and for all we know, perhaps that priest was himself trusting the advice of another priest or father of the religion and acting in good faith as well

^ and when the pupil is asked: “why won’t you open the box?”
the pupil will reply: “On faith.”
“But you ought to open it. It’s good for you to consider”
“No, it is not a good thing. I know this by faith.”

Really, they “know” it by testimonial evidence provided by their priest. Yet they will refer to it as an act of “faith.”

In this way, I hope it is clearly demonstrated that “faith” is merely “confidence.” It is based on plain-jane rational reasoning but it is disguised as something mystical.

To believe in the existence of anything other than yourself, you need a certain degree of faith. To say that Faith and Reason are incompatible is ridiculous; I’d make the case that neither can exist without the other.

Make the case then. I’d like to hear it.

@ninjacolin This is essentially getting a little further into philosophy than is probably relevant, but if we’re to believe Decartes, no conclusion other than that you yourself (assuming you’re a conscious being) exist can be made without some degree of faith. Anything else could simply be a trick of the mind. Without other conclusions, there is no reason—if we don’t have enough confidence to claim anything, there’s nothing to infer anything from in the first place, and there’s not much to be inferred from the sole conclusion that you exist. There’s also the fact that if you were to actually live solely on what you absolutely know, then reason is absolutely pointless since you’re resigning yourself to believing that everything around you is an illusion anyways.

As for faith depending on reason, that’s something I don’t think I could argue very well. I don’t think I could dispute the fact that blind faith exists very well. I would, however, like to point out that between a religious person and an atheist, if we assume either is equally likely to be correct about the existence of higher powers, the religious person will typically come out on top, even if we assume that you do indeed gain a better first/only life as an atheist. Losing out on some of the things your only life has to offer for a chance at eternal life is, in the long run, a low risk high reward scenario, while gaining more happiness in one’s first life while gambling on eternal damnation is quite the opposite, a high risk low reward scenario. I don’t honestly think that’s a good motivation to become religious, but honestly, which seems more logical?

They incapable of much reason, need someone tell them what they blindly believe. Faith and reason are opposites. Inkswinc not comprehend that. He use Pascal’s Wager, is quite illogical.