Why do people believe in God?

Actually, a few years ago I read a book -- not THAT long -- called Religion Explained.

It was very interesting, and I recommend it, if you're really interested.

Yes, almost every human who has ever lived had taken their parents' religion.

But there are reasons, to be found in cognitive psychology, for belief in supernatural stuff to be so common among humans.

MUCH of the real estate of our brains is dedicated to our sociality, so it's almost automatic to see things in human-like terms -- weather having intentions, and feelings, and such.

AND, for each person we know, we have a "file" in our brain for that person. When they die, that file doesn't vanish -- which is why the common belief that the dead still exist in some form.

there was, of course, much more.

There's also much of wishful thinking to much religion. I mean, wouldn't it be DESIRABLE that horrible people suffer at some point, and good people experience some form of paradise?

"Just because you happen to be born into a religious family?"

I was not born into a religious family. God's name was mostly used in vain. God called me to come to know Jesus as my Savior and Lord when I was 15 and that had nothing to do with my upbringing.

Why do people believe in God? Because God has made Himself known to us in two ways: 1) through creation (Romans 1:20); and 2) through the inherent knowledge of life after death (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Those that reject the belief in God: The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." (Psalm 14:1)

Solomon concluded the following: "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

I was religious from childhood, and have always been interested in religions, mythology and science; I was a devout, practising Catholic; I read the Bible, both Old and New Testaments and the Apocrypha, several times; and was taught about it in school.

After studying and thinking deeply about faith, I realised in mid-teenage that faith was based upon nothing but itself, that science explained nature satisfactorily without needing supernatural beings, and that religious beliefs were no different to those of ancient beliefs in gods and goddesses.

When I first had doubts about my faith I thought that maybe this was a test of it, which was an idea planted in my mind by those teaching us about our faith. So I made the effort to accept it even more so. But the doubts came again, and I wondered what would happen if we took faith out of the equation; the world and nature still made sense, so I saw no reason to get back into it. And my understanding is that there's no theoretical or mathematical need for a god or gods, and there's no valid evidence of it or them; so there's no reason to believe. At the time this was difficult intellectually and emotionally (I was a teenager, after all).

That was nearly 50 years ago, and my escape from faith has freed me to embrace what science has to offer, which I consider far more plausible than belief in the supernatural, and is the nearest we can get to the truth about how nature and the universe work. I've felt a sense of freedom ever since, and am happy and at peace with this. And I've found the humility to admit that I don't know everything, rather than masking this by invoking a deity.

I still have an interest in religions, mythology, folklore and related matters, and am fascinated that people still believe in things that to me are clearly just not true.

I was not born into a religious family. We did not attend church or read the Old or New Testament. At age 5, I was standing outside under the stars looking upward and wondering how did we get here? Who put us here on the Earth? Then I hear a voice saying something about there being a God and that He put us here. I heard the voice very clearly. Since then I have learned prayer produces electromagnetic energy that scientists have measured and tested. Prayer works. Our souls are electromagnetic as well. The Earth produces electromagnetic energy. We are electromagnetic beings. The God-YHVH is as we are, a EM being. God uses telepathy to speak to us. The same with animals etc. I believe in God the Creator of all things. I believe because creation is mathematical, everything works together. There is Positive energy and Negative energy throughout the world. God is energy. Light. Love.

Childhood indoctrination and traumatic brain injuries

Most people believe from a combination of childhood indoctrination and wishful thinking.

Because two huge fears are fear of death and fear of the unknown, and science doesn't have answers for them yet. Belief in an afterlife provides people with peace of mind and comfort, and we humans will go to unbelievable lengths to avoid being uncomfortable.

Largely as an evolutionary response to an innate fear of death or harm, combined with codified cultural systems of belief that rely on childhood indoctrination and inherited ritualistic behaviors based on belief in the supernatural.

Of course, the defensive responses you'll see are... "OH YES THERE IS EVIDENCE" followed by no actual evidence being presented, or "Well, there's is no scientific evidence of human rights..." which is not only false but a complete diversion from the fact that there is no scientific evidence of gods. And assorted other logical fallacies and counter-attacks.

There is no scientific proof for love, friendship, sadness, of just about anything else emotional. Yet, few doubt these things exist. God is supernatural, and apart from the realms of Science, although we can detect what He does with science, much as we can detect air by observing what the wind does.

People believe because God exists. We have a tough time proving that with science, but, with other tools, e.g., Theology, it is easy.

We are hard wired to believe in some outside source. It is actually an evolutionary advantage. Humans are social animals, and religion has been a great way to create a society.

No. I believe in God because everything isn't made by man. There is something greater, a greater force and that is God. This doesn't require scientific evidence. It's a personal belief. If you reject Him, you have the free will to do so. If you want to find Him, you need to be humble and let Him into your heart. He will guide you and help you find the answers you seek.

Of course there is scientific "evidence" to the existence of God. However, "evidence", in the hands of anyone, can be manipulated or presented to fit someone's opinion.

That being said, for me, existence cannot be proven scientifically. All theories of the creation of the universe have holes big enough through them to drive a truck through. Leaving me with no factual conclusion of our origin. So, it leaves me with only on plausible conclusion. That the universe and its existing laws were created by God.

Beyond that, I have no proof or understanding. I'm simply left with faith.

Besides, in the end, whether I'm right or wrong, it won't matter after my death. So, I don't fret about it too much.

Indoctrination as infants, and the irrational superstitious fear they drag with them into adulthood.

You have tried to conflate two different things: a belief in God and being raised in a particular religion. I found God on my own.

I can't prove Christianity to be true, but I do have good, logical, scientific, and historical reason to believe it is. Check out the book The Case for Christ or Gary Habermas' writings. I don't believe something because someone tells me it is true. I look at the possibilities and choose the one that I feel is the most true, not what I desire to be true.

People believe what matches their own experience.

God reveals himself in many ways, and those who search for him honestly find him.

Faith in God is not a possession of all people, but it can lead to a deep-seated personal happiness.

People believe in God because God makes himself known through his works. Also, because just like a house is constructed by someone, the one who constructed all things is God. Thirdly, a real, ultimate Creator, by definition, has to be uncreated, so there must be only one.

The God of the Bible recommends himself to be the Creator because of consistent fulfillment of prophecy. Secondly, every few months a discovery in science or archeology is made that corroborates some aspect of the Bible's account. Third, the morality of the Bible's commands about how to live our lives works for everyone - respect for life, respect for property, respect for reproductive powers, respect for truth, and most of all, to put God's service in the center of our lives.

There is a lot of evil in this world, that is, a lot of self-destructive, selfish, violent, senseless behavior, and this is a puzzle in the minds of many of the most dyed-in-the-wool evolutionist/atheists, because they would expect that all of these "millions and billions of years of evolution" would result in a more productive behavior pattern. But it is caused by the evil in many humans, and because, right now, Satan is the ruler and god of this world. John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 God our Creator, because he is a just God, has a plan to get rid of the evil in the world, and undo the evil that has been done

Just because a Creator of the universe cannot be seen does not deny his existence, because we don't see gravity, or the wind, or electricity, but we know that they exist, because we see their effects. Similarly, when we see lives radically changing for the better because of a new found faith in a Creator, we are seeing the effects of God in their lives. I have seen this many, many times, and no atheist can deny that this happens.

The truth is that there is no proof that there is no intelligent Creator - and the tremendous complexity and interconnectedness of our existence strongly indicate that one does. Atheists generally do not want to talk about beginnings or of finding final answers to important questions, which is the whole point of it all. Who am I? What am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is this life all there is? We could give our opinion about these questions, but opinions are not answers.

It is true that most great scientists in history believed that the earth was created.

To insist that scientific methodology was conceived only in the last 300 years is unreasonable, especially in view of our knowledge of ancient cultures and their accomplishments - they were not all ignorant deluded illiterate goat herders.

Isaac Newton demonstrated that with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is logical to conclude that the tremendous complexity of matter, energy, forces and the laws that govern them must have a cause of at least equal complexity.

It is also true that the modern scientist accepts that at some point in the distant past, the universe began to exist. The red shift of the stars confirms this.

This fact also brings Kalam's Cosmological Argument into play. (Google it)

It is also true that an alternate cause of the universe is intelligent rather than a mindless force.

The fine tuning mathematical constants that are evident throughout the universe reveal a common intelligent mind producing it all.

The DNA (or RNA) molecule on earth is found to be amazingly complex, and exists in even the tiniest kinds of living things.
The question then is, is the ultimate source of that existence someTHING or someONE -- that is, a mindless random source, or an intelligent one?

Because information has never resulted from randomness, the intelligent answer is superior.

Therefore, there exists an intelligent, uncreated Creator.
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There is nothing unreasonable about these facts. There are some suppositions and hypotheses out there that have no real basis, but these facts remain. Therefore, a scientist can believe that the universe was created by an intelligent being outside of HUMANLY RECORDABLE time and space, without denying science.

It is also important to recognize that the assertion that there is no proof that God exists implies that we humans have all of the information that we need to say this. That can't be true, since most of the universe is unexplored and even unobserved. What we do know about life is that it is incredibly complex, which indicates an addition of information, not a chance stumbling on the correct super-complex formulas for life.

And many of the necessary formulas for life cannot work unless all of the components are there, in the right places - and THIS is observable science.
For this reason alone, many biologists and geneticists are rethinking their view of a Creator God.

The truth is that not all religious people believe that atheists have no morals. However, here is the difference:

An atheist can have morals or not have morals, and either stance would not deny their atheism.

A person who, say, believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ, automatically knows that if they do wrong, it is displeasing to God, and since he or she loves God, that knowledge provides a strong incentive to change their course and do right. Indeed, the definition of what is right and wrong is imbedded in the teaching of Christ.

Humans, despite their assertions to the contrary, are influenced by a multitude of things in life that could make them do wrong, and even justify their wrongdoing. So even though God says we shouldn't kill, humans have, and will, justify killing by saying that they came to them to teach them the gospel of Christ, or, some atheistic philosophy, and then upon their rejection, they kill them. Jesus never taught this, but it is their justification.

Greed, passion, jealousy, pride, ambition, pain, fear - I could go on and on, and all of these at one time or another will induce humans to do stupid, self-destructive, and ILLOGICAL things. Atheists say that their choices are completely based on reasoning and science and logic, but humans have a tendency to lie to themselves, too, and their choices too frequently turn out to be based on any one of these kinds of things.

Acceptance of the existence of an absolute example - an intelligent, purposeful Creator, can move one to believe that all humans are brothers and sisters. Acceptance of an absolute unimpeachable moral code, one which includes mercy and compassion, but which no one can influence with bribery or threats, can move one to believe that we are obligated to treat one another with love and respect. The God of the Bible sent his Son to provide a visual example, and to provide a way of salvation, eventually, from the sinful tendencies with which we still find ourselves. This makes moral sin something to avoid, which, again, atheism in its basic philosophy does not completely condemn.

Atheists sometimes point to people who are atheists and who are moral. It should also be noted that atheism does not make them moral. There are atheists who are very amoral but who are still atheists. If a Christian is amoral, they are acting against the teaching that they apparently accepted at some point. Jesus himself said repeatedly that if someone comes to him saying "Lord,Lord" but does not do the will of his Father, he will reject them. Matthew 7:21; Luke 6:46

So we have incentive to do better morally in our lives, by our acceptance and love for our Creator, and by the example set by Jesus Christ.

Talking about scientific evidence, have you ever thought about how perfectly designed our planet earth is? Life on earth could never exist were it not for a series of very fortunate "coincidences," some of which were unknown or poorly understood until the 20th century. Those "coincidences" include the following:
Earth's location in the Milky Way galaxy and the solar system, as well as the planet's orbit, tilt, rotational speed, and unusual moon.
What about the magnetic field and an atmosphere that serve as a dual shield?
How about the Natural Cycles that replenish and cleanse the earth's air and water supply?
As you consider each of these topics, ask yourself, 'Are earth's features a product of blind chance or of purposeful design? What about the sun's distance from the earth? If we were just a fraction closer to the sun, we would bake, life would not exist. If we were just a fraction farther away from the sun, everything would freeze. Again, life could not exist here on earth. Read more about our wonderfully designed planet on jw.org and "Was Life Created" a brochure written and distributed by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

Well. ..thank you for all those answers how enlightening

I "believe"(know) that God is real because he offered me all the proof that I needed..... when I came to know that I needed God... He was there for me... even though just moments before I was cursing the very idea of His existence... in very hostile language....

faith not base on some fact is fantasy.

The Faith of those of The True Christian Faith is based upon The Fact of God.... it is because we know God... and what He has done for each of us personally... that we have The Faith that what He says was, was... what He says is, is... and what He says sill come to pass, will come to pass

There can be cultural and/or spiritual reasons.

The cultural reason may be social indoctrination (which isn't something bad per se). Basically, people copy and paste what they learn and are highly manipulative...

The spiritual reason is spiritual experience. Belief in God is like having had an astral projection experience. If you have had an ap experience, you would have no problem with the concept of God. If you haven't had any such experience, you would deny its existence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KsqeCF7k2Q

The fact of the matter NO, the reason most people believe in God is because God put it into their hearts to believe in God, because believing is a work that we do and nothing that we do can ever get us saved, only the works of God Jesus Christ is the only way to become saved, as it is written in God word the bible only, by grace ye are saved, Also it is written No man comes to the father but through the son Jesus Christ, he did all the work before the foundation of the world, that is why he is called the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Just like Saul of Tarsus, he was a nonbeliever of God Jesus Christ, until God Jesus Christ open Saul of Tarsus eyes, and made him a child of God, that is the only way anyone can truly believe in God is if God saves you. You can say I believe in God, but until God Jesus Christ saves you, you faith, and believing are dead works, because we are dead in trespass and sin, that is why we need a saviour to save us from the wrath of God and are sin.

Because it is logical. Because there is historical evidence for the Christian God. Because there is personal experience in believers.

To protect the earth from destroying

because they choose to believe in something outside of themselves. because if this life that we lead is all their is and there was nothing greater then our lives would be quite meaningless

Many believe in God because they have come to know him. Through the pages of the Bible an unmistakable personality emerges and you just want to know more about this personality. The more you read the clearer he becomes and then, at some point in your reading you discover that you can become his friend. Friends with the Creator of the universe. Pretty impressive. Then as you continue reading it becomes evident that he was calling you. He read your heart as an individual and invited you to get to know him. A humbling experience.

The wisdom found in the scriptures could not possibly have come from humans. Consider Matthew chapters 5 to 7. This is better know as Jesus' sermon on the mount. It should take about ten minutes to read yet the wisdom contained in that simple sermon some have said that, if followed, would solve most of the problems of humanity. So getting to know God is a pleasure and belief in him is not even in question anymore.

If you like you can get to know more about him yourself at jw(dot)org/en/bible-teachings/questions where the very first question is all about who God is and what he is really like. Not much to loose by checking it out.

Most likely because He is the only Living God in the Universe......And I was not born into a Family Religion......

Evidence is only necessary to justify doing something that can have bad consequence. If a religious person believes that God requires him to be productively charitable and not neglect the needy, why would he need to justify his actions in complying to this belief?

Because he is real. Just because science can't catch up with that
doesn't mean he doesn't exist. Look how long it has taken man to
come up with the cell phone or even electricity which has been around
possibly before man got here. Just be patient. God has been showing
them and you things for centuries. You all are just a little slow at
catching on, that's all.

The universal laws demand a Law Giver and Keeper.

cuz he's real duhhhh