Comfort without Religion

One of the criticisms that votaries of religion, and I suppose I am referring primarily to Christians, direct at non-believers, is that atheism cannot replace the comfort of belief in a god and the hope that comes from belief in an afterlife.

This issue cannot really be viewed as an argument for the existence of a god, but looks beyond such a question to the very pragmatic issue of the practicality of atheism. It suggests the pointlessly of an attempt to reduce religiosity in socieites as people will not let go of the hope of those beliefs.

Now in a naturalistic world, in which animals evolved, the role of 'hope' served by belief in agencies directing the world is quite a beneficial one if it aids survival in some way. And it doesn't take much of a thought experiment to consider that a mental state of hopelessness and pointlessness would not really be beneficial to survival -- it would be a disbenefit.

A consideration of what helps people in times of crises indicates that there are many elements at work. Certainly having control over a situation can be helpful -- think about believing that the gods control rain and praying to the gods for rain gives some control/hope in the siutation. But a very important part of coping with situations is the comfort of having friends and family around, or people who share the same situation and experiences. And the lesson from counselling, such as emerged in client-centred therapy, is the importance of someone who will listen and empathise and accept, but not be judgemental. In fact one of the benefits of having pets is that they provide 'unconditiional positive regard' to the owner, which is emotional very satisfying.

All this suggests is that while evolutionby natural selection has produced brains which can think abstractly, search for patterns and ways to control their environment, and which tend to anthromorphise everything; it has also produced social animals with instincts for a range of emotions and living in groups, who seek and get comfort and strength from each other. Facial cues, and other cues, communicate emotional states from sadness to fear; and instincts for empathy, care, and group loyalty kick in.

Religious institutions cater well for comforting people by offering a loyal and responsive group, and pushing strong social interaction -- including regular services and festivals. These do not require religion. And the variety of different types of social groups, and of course communtiy services, in modern, pluralistic, democtraic societies show this.

Now in Western societies, there is no strong atheist agenda to get rid of religion. The push is for secularism. So of course religious communities can continue to function, providing benefits to their members.

But we can see that evolution has provided us with very strong mechanisms to provide hope and comfort to people without appealing to the unknown. It's within us and with the groups we live with.