Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Why We Believe: Part 1 (Socialization)

Recently I finished reading a fascinating book titled “The Tenacity of Unreasonable Beliefs: Fundamentalism and the Fear of Truth” by Solomon Schimmel. Schimmell is quite a paradox: he is a practicing Orthodox Jew who loves his religious community, a professor of psychology and Hebrew studies at Hebrew College, and a self-described agnostic/atheist.

I found so many similarities between Schimmel’s experience as a skeptic within Orthodox Judaism and my own experience within orthodox Mormonism.  In his book, which I highly recommend, he explores some fascinating aspects of religious belief. An aspect I want to highlight here is how people acquire their religious beliefs.

Understanding how people acquire religious beliefs helps me be a little more understanding towards others who have a different opinion.  The reason why is that our beliefs have little to do with free-will  (in fact, it is doubtful we even have free-will).  Like many things that we feel free about, religious beliefs bubble up from environmental, genetic, and subconscious psychological factors that are beyond our ability to consciously control. And because a large measure of our religious belief is beyond our ability to control, we shouldn't judge too harshly.

So why do people believe that certain religious myths are literally true? Where do our religious beliefs come from? Why do we hold certain religious beliefs when there is no objective evidence for believing them? And why do we hold onto them so tenaciously in the face of disconfirming evidence? In Part 1, I want to focus on one of the reasons we hold religious beliefs. I will examine other reasons for belief in subsequent posts.

First, we are socialized to believe certain religious beliefs when we are young.

Socialization is why children raised in Pakistan or Afghanistan are usually Muslim who believe that Mohammad was Allah's true prophet who revealed His word in the Koran. Socialization is why kids from Utah usually believe Joseph Smith was God’s true prophet who translated gold plates into the Book of Mormon. Socialization is why many Catholics believe that the sacramental wine and wafer literally become the blood and flesh of Jesus Christ inside their bodies (transubstantiation). Socialization is why a child of an Orthodox Jewish home will believe the Pentateuch was inerrently revealed by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  These people wouldn't hold such different and unsubstantiated beliefs without the socialization and culture they grew up in.

Could you imagine hearing about certain religious myths for the first time when you were an adult? Would angels and demons, Gods and Satan, Heaven or Hell, or prophets and revelation really be plausible if you never heard about them until you were thirty? What about gold plates, white Native Americans who were Israelites, and a transcontinental visit by a resurrected Jesus?  These ideas are as implausible and irrational as believing that crackers and wine magically turn into Jesus's body and blood inside your stomach. None of these ideas would be plausible unless you had them repeatedly reinforced by your parents, your church authority figures, and your society at large.

And it's not just religious myths that we are socialized into believing. The same phenomenon works for holiday myths as well.  For example, Western children believe in Santa Claus, while Aboriginal and Mongolian children do not for the simple reason that one group was socialized to believe in Santa, and others were not.  In fact, holiday myths (like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny) die out sooner because our socialization of them stops sooner - not because they are any less rational.

And like holiday myths, religious myths work better when we are taught to believe them when we are children. While we are young, we are unable to think critically about such abstract ideas.  The reason we are unable to think critically is because the parts of our brain responsible for critical thinking don't mature until we are in our mid-twenties.  If we want our children to accept something irrational, then the time to get them to believe it is when they are incapable of rational thinking.

Socializing children to believe certain religious ideas sheds a different light on the scripture in Proverbs: "Train up a child in the way he will go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Well of course they usually won't!  But is it right to do so?  Is it right to socialize children to believe in religion? Why not expose your kids to lots of different religious beliefs when they are young so that when they grow up, they can choose their own religious beliefs?  Why do many Mormon parents think that religious belief is a choice that parents should make for them?

I think it's telling that many Mormon parents think that if you don't teach your children to believe Mormon doctrines, then the parents are guilty of the child's sins. What a great idea to scare parents into indoctrinating their children! It seems to reveal the fact that most people know that if they didn't socialize their kids into believing certain religious beliefs, that they wouldn't ever believe in them. I get a sense of this when concerned family and friends sometimes asked my wife and I what we were doing to teach our kids about the church.  I think they realized that our children won't believe it unless we socialize them while they are young. What a damning indictment of the irrationality of religious belief; that it is largely unbelievable unless you indoctrinate your children before they have the ability to think for themselves.

However, before I get too judgy here, I need to remember that our parents and leaders, who socialized us, were also socialized themselves by their parents and church authorities.  And the people who socialized them were socialized themselves, etcetera, etcetera.  So can we really get very upset at our parents or leaders when they were as free to choose their religious beliefs as we were?  It's nuanced, but we really shouldn't. We just don't have as much freedom (nor did our parents) to choose our religious beliefs since we have them, in large measure, because we are socialized into them before we can think rationally for ourselves.

There's more to the question "Why we believe?" that I will address in subsequent posts. So until my next installment, my beloved brethren and sisters, I bid thee "adieu."

9 comments:

  1. I still say you ought to read Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander. I really identified with his relationship with and opinions of God, but it's mostly just for fun. You and Heidi will both like it.

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  2. Hey, this might come across as a little harsh and snarky, so I do apologize in advance. But please take anything I say to be a personal attack; it’s not like that at all; I just don’t agree with some of your points. I hope that’s okay with you. If it isn’t I’ll tone it down in the future. Please let me know. Or maybe I’m just grumpy right now because I have been saddled with the nonsensical task of having to wake up my wife at 1:00 a.m. SO SHE CAN WATCH THE ROYAL WEDDING!! Unbelievable.

    “a large measure of our religious belief is beyond our ability to control, we shouldn't judge too harshly.”

    My religious belief isn’t beyond *my* “ability to control.” I believe (or not believe, as that goes without saying) what I believe *as an adult* what I choose to regardless of what I was taught, or even so-called brain-washed to believe in as a child. The only, I think, major factor that could interfere with this ‘freedom of choice’ as an adult (but unfortunately even as a child in many situations) are the undesirable effects that would result from not believing what others believe in my core social group, which, besides other repercussions, would almost certainly be the cause of banishment (ostracized, disenfranchised, marginalized) from the group. However, as long as I can deal with those consequences “like a man” i.e., have the balls to stand up for what I believe or not believe, then I am absolutely in control. I believe in being punished for my own sins, not Adam‘s (or my parents’) transgressions (faults and errors made while parenting me as a child).

    Con’t #1

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  3. “These ideas are as implausible and irrational as believing that crackers and wine magically turn into Jesus's body and blood inside your stomach.”

    Not the same as:

    “Would angels and demons, Gods and Satan, Heaven or Hell, or prophets and revelation really be plausible if you never heard about them until you were thirty? What about gold plates, white Native Americans who were Israelites, and a transcontinental visit by a resurrected Jesus?”

    For me, the jury is still out with regard to “gold plates” etc. Trust me, I’m way outside the standard TBM box now, but, like I said, “the jury is still out.” Why? Because I have had more that one metaphysical or mystical experience, which gives me great pause and wonderment so as to be wary of not to end up throwing the baby out with all of the dirty bath water. I could go on at great length about this, but it would not be apropos at this time and place on your blog site. Suffice to say I am not easily taken to be duped or bamboozled by emotion, but I know what I have experienced. I well realize that this may come across as some sort of ploy, but it isn’t; it just is what it is and ain’t no isser.

    Con’t #2

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  4. “Why not expose your kids to lots of different religious beliefs when they are young so that when they grow up, they can choose their own religious beliefs?”

    You want to expose your child to some whacked-out fundamentalist religious group‘s ideology so he or she "can choose their own religious beliefs"? And besides, do you really think there is that much time in the day to devote to this multiple exposure exercise besides soccer practice, helping with homework, etc, etc?

    “Why do many Mormon parents think that religious belief is a choice that parents should make for them?”

    Probably for the same reason they know that eating vegetables is good for them even though the kids don't think that “yucky” stuff is, so the parents “make” that choice for them. All ‘religion’ isn’t all ‘bad’ any more than children’s Aspirin is as long as it’s dispensed in the right way and for it’s intended *good* use.

    Con’t #3

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  5. “I think it's telling that many Mormon parents think that if you don't teach your children to believe Mormon doctrines, then the parents are guilty of the child's sins.”

    What? You don't think it's vitally important to teach kids good principles to live by, i.e., the ‘doctrine‘ of don't smoke, don't drink, be chaste, etc? I don't know any *rational* Mormon parents (sure, there are a lot of whacked-out Mormon parents as well -- I’ve known enough of them) who thinks that just because their kid has expressed doubt that the gold plates are real is *sinning*. It may be an affront to those parents' beliefs, and they will probably do what they can to convince or influence the child to believe as they do, but beyond that -- a ‘sin‘, nnnnno, I don't think so.

    “What a damning indictment of the irrationality of religious belief; that it is largely unbelievable unless you indoctrinate your children before they have the ability to think for themselves.”

    There is nothing irrational with “religious belief.” You don' use "religious belief" as the test instrument for rationality; that's absurd in the extreme. To staunchly affirm this, is to be just as guilty as those whacked-out (I use that term a lot, don't I) fundamentalists who affirm IRrationality by the standard on NON-religious belief -- theirs! What I am essentially disagreeing with in your statement has to do with the notion of indoctrinating children before they have the ability to think for themselves. I never indoctrinated my kids *in all things* -- I taught them what I *believed* in religiously. If there was any indoctrination, it had to do with, “Stealing is wrong. Lying is wrong. Not sharing with others is wrong.” etc. But when it came to religious beliefs, I can honestly say I was very careful -- otherwise I would have been a “whacked-out” parent (at least in that regard but perhaps not in everything!). I am pretty sure of this because some of my kids (all adults on their own now) are active, believing Mormons, and some are not. And we all get along wonderfully! When it comes to religious beliefs, we respect each others *choices*.

    Peace, and I look forward to reading your blog entries with continued interest. And by the way, a lot of what you have written I do agree with or at least understand where you are coming from.

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  6. “But please take anything I say to be a personal attack; “

    LOL!!

    That’s “please DON”T take..”

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  7. Paul, thanks for your great comments and points. I hope I can respond as thoughtfully as you have. Lots to respond to here:

    1. You say that you are free from the influence of childhood religious-socialization, and are free to choose as an adult. I would just ask you to compare your current beliefs with the beliefs that you were taught when you were younger. I'll bet there is a fair amount of overlap. And where you find differences, I'll bet that a lot of them come from other social influences in life: an influencial teacher, book, college course, philosopher, or social peer - etc. Our beliefs are not made in a vaccum - they come from social and cultural influences around us. Our genes also have more to do with how we think and what we believe than we care to admit at times. All these things (social, cultural, and genetic influences) impinge on our current beliefs whether we realize it or not. It is these influences that mold our current beliefs. And if our beliefs occur because of events around and within us that we have limited control over (for example, where we are born and who our parents are) then a lot of our religious beliefs are beyond our "free-will."

    2. You make the point that unique Mormon beliefs are less implausible because of your religious experiences about them. Consider that the Muslim has also had powerful spiritual experiences about the Koran and Mohammed. Consider that people believe in UFO's because of their own powerful experiences of having been abducted. Consider that FLDS believe in their modern prophets, and their revelation, for the same reasons that any religious believer. We are easily tricked not just by our emotions, but by what we conclude from our subjective experiences. That these religious experiences are real and powerful emotive experiences is not being questioned. It's what we sometimes conclude from them that should be questioned. If you want, please see my post on religious experiences for a more detailed treatment of the subject.

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  8. 3. I'll just quote you on your third point about religious education of children: "You want to expose your child to some whacked-out fundamentalist religious group‘s ideology so he or she "can choose their own religious beliefs"? Maybe there is some misunderstanding by what I mean by "exposure to religion." What I mean is that I teach them ABOUT all different religious beliefs - even the wacky ones. Teaching your kids about all religions (comparitive religion class for kids) I think is an extremely illuminating and helpful experience that teaches respect and tolerance for all beliefs, rather than indoctrinating them in just one faith that teaches kids that they belong to the "only true church." It also teaches kids how similar different religions are, which is also very illuminating. If they want to belong to a religion, I would not have any problem with that, as long as it is their choice, and not mine.

    4. I write: “I think it's telling that many Mormon parents think that if you don't teach your children to believe Mormon doctrines, then the parents are guilty of the child's sins.”
    You write: "What? You don't think it's vitally important to teach kids good principles to live by, i.e., the ‘doctrine‘ of don't smoke, don't drink, be chaste, etc?"

    I do believe in teaching my kids right and wrong. I do it everyday. But I also realize that a sense of right and wrong is innate. Every society (whether you are Christian, Muslim, or part of an Amazon tribe) know basic rules of right and wrong like the "golden rule." My job is to help develop what they already innately know. Teaching religious dogma to kids is not teaching them right and wrong. It's just indoctrination of dogma. For example, there's nothing moral about teaching your kids to believe in the literalness of gold plates or that Joseph Smith was visited by God. Those are just religious myths - as moral as teaching your kids to believe that James Strang (founder of the Mormon spin-off Strangites) had similar experiences. You can also look at my post on the source of morality.

    5. I wrote: “What a damning indictment of the irrationality of religious belief; that it is largely unbelievable unless you indoctrinate your children before they have the ability to think for themselves.”
    To which you respond: "What I am essentially disagreeing with in your statement has to do with the notion of indoctrinating children before they have the ability to think for themselves. I never indoctrinated my kids "in all things" -- I taught them what I 'believed' in religiously. If there was any indoctrination, it had to do with, 'Stealing is wrong. Lying is wrong. Not sharing with others is wrong.' etc."

    Yes - I agree with you. Teaching basic rules of morality is not what I'm saying is irrational. I'm saying that the unique truth claims of religion is irrational in the sense that they contradict basic laws of reason (and usually basic laws of nature). I don't connect morality - which is universal, and independent of religion - with religion. They don't have anything to do with eachother, even though religious people sometimes think that being religious helps you to be more moral. There is no evidence to support the association between religious belief and morality, and there are plenty of reasons to doubt it.

    Thanks for the comments Paul. Looking forward to hearing more of your thoughts. And I hope you were able to get back to sleep after you had to wake up your wife for the wedding. LOL!. When my wife asked me if I was excited for "the wedding," I said "What wedding?" She couldn't understand that, like you, I just didn't care very much about it.

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  9. Erin: We got the book "Foreskin's Lament" you recommended. Looks awesome!

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