[ajmurmann]

The strength of the religious congregations is that they have a built-in forcing function that drives a regular attendance and brings families and individuals together. You must go to avoid hell, drives more attendance than going to avoid possible, future loneliness.

I am an ardent atheist, but this aspect of religion makes me wish I too was delusional.

[starkd]

I completely understand your point. But you also have to realize that belief is also a choice, not just a factual agreement on reality. It may surprise you to learn that many of those church attendees are not 100% in agreement. They too have doubts. They choose to believe it for the community. Or the alternative is just too bleak for them.

[wwweston]

> But you also have to realize that belief is also a choice

Depends on what you mean by "belief."

I don't think "belief" as "perceived model / understood facts about the universe" is a choice any more than you decide what you see or hear or otherwise perceive. Maybe at margins where things are unclear.

"Belief" in a way-of-being / life path like "I believe that if I live this way, I'll see these results" probably involves a fair bit of choice. This is probably why the word "faith" exists and where it's most useful and may even be why it's associated with religious communities.

(There may be also be a middle ground where one decides reading only religious worldview-affirming material and avoid worldview-eroding discussion is likely to produce best outcomes and has the epistemic boundaries of all the material they take in set accordingly, and I guess that's a 2nd-to-nth order choice about belief)

[ajmurmann]

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying, but would like to. Is there a more long-form text on the topic you'd recommend? I think I can understand it for a simple question like "is there a god?", but cannot see how this arrived at believing everything in a particular passed-down book.

[mensetmanusman]

Religion looks around at everything and asks ‘is this all meaningful or not?’

Religion says ‘yes’ and the doubt is bridged by faith (as is all doubt, since most of human life has necessary doubt that can’t be proven one way or the other).

Some people say that having meaning/doubt is delusional.