I don’t know whether religion is innate, but I’m pretty convinced that patternicity and intentionality are. And that is a combination that makes some kind of a supernatural Supreme being a consequence of thought processes that are completely rational in other contexts. So it may not be helpful to try and label people or even thought processes as rational or irrational. It all depends on the context.drumdude wrote: ↑Sat Jan 15, 2022 8:44 pmI think belief in a God is innate in humans, because humans are inherently irrational. There will always be people who believe irrational things, and some of those irrational things are harmless or perhaps even beneficial to society.
So I disagree with the idea that religion needs to vanish. I think certain religious behaviors need to vanish. Suicide bombing. Genital mutilation. Child marriages. Theocratic rule of law.
The goal needs to be to tame religions, not abolish them. To coexist. But that does not, as Dan Peterson wants, mean treating religions with kid gloves. Religions must continue to be mocked, scrutinized, held to account when they deserve it.
More and more, I’ve come to believe that mockery is a counterproductive tool for anything other than dehumanization and divisiveness. Otherwise, my focus, like yours, is on actions and consequences rather than belief.