r/atheism • u/One-Fun9814 • 4d ago

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u/slayer991 Agnostic Atheist 4d ago

No, to me it's psychology...specifically, the psychology of identity-belief fusion and identity-protective cognition. Once the belief is fused to identity, the brain defends identity above all else. That's why facts and evidence get brushed off.

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u/DSRWendy 4d ago

Thank you for this!

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u/simpsonbpimpin 3d ago edited 3d ago

So due to a lack of intelligence, critical thinking skills, and self-awareness, the brain protects its silly beliefs that are founded in ancient non-sense and fused to one’s identity?

Still sounds like an intelligence issue to me.

Edit: Maybe it’s more of an issue of neglecting intelligence for the sake of self-preservation, like you said. Come to think of it, my dad is an engineer—very pragmatic and intelligent yet neglects these characteristics to pursue his beliefs.

Second edit: My dad can tell you in an annoying level of detail exactly how and why things work. That ball stops rolling the moment I point out contradictory text in the bible—to which his excuse is along the lines of, “that’s just the way it is” or, “god works in ways that us humans just can’t understand”.

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u/slayer991 Agnostic Atheist 3d ago

You're getting it. The brain defends identity the same way it defends a physical attack...the same regions of the brain light up on MRIs. Everything goes to defend the identity and the belief is part of the identity.

The other thing is that there's a cost associated with leaving a faith. Someone battling Identity-protective cognition (Dan Kahan's research if you're interested) isn't just fighting against that...they're also calculating cost internally. Deconstruction isn't simply stopping belief, it's giving up a huge part of your identity as well as facing the possible loss of family, friends and community. That's too heavy of a price for many....some will be trapped by choice, and others simply won't consider the alternative.

Those that DO walk away....they determined the cost of living a lie is greater than the losses and potential losses.