My philosophy of religion teacher gave us 3 reasons why people lose faith in their religions. The list surprised me, because I realized that not one applied to me.
The list was this:
1- There are doctrinal issues that they simply cannot rectify, and they reject the religion altogether.
3- They are afraid of looking stupid for believing in God.
But I do not lose faith because of these things. I immediately began writing my own list:
Why do I lose faith? (Benefits of losing faith)
1- I judge people less when I reject the religious definition of sin.
2- I accept other people more when I don't believe my world view is the only ultimate truth.
3- I lose debilitating fear when I reject the notion of Satan.
4- I gain mental freedom when I consider my thoughts to be private.
5- I have ambition and hopes and dreams for myself when I reject the doctrinal place for women.
6- I have more control over myself when I don't blame my thoughts, feelings, and actions on good or evil spiritual influences
7- I allow my brain to mature to full adult mental capacity when I stop allowing religious information to bypass my critical factor.
8- I am more open to the discovery of truth when I am not afraid that it doesn't fit into the skeleton of church doctrine.
9- I come to more logical conclusions when I don't force religious and secular ideas together with over-complicated logic.
10- I feel an urgency to be productive and make the most of my life when I think that this is my only chance.
11- I find no reason to ever waste one second being unhappy when I believe death is the end.
12- I am less likely to base decisions on emotion when I believe the source of my emotions are chemicals, rather than spiritual influences.
13- It is easier for me to forgive and love myself after I make a mistake when I look at the actual natural consequences, instead of feeling guilty for sinning against God.
14- I understand the functions and purposes of my body when I believe that it was evolved over millions of years, and that everything about it was evolved because it was good and beneficial.
15- I am comfortable with my body and my sexuality when I don't associate it with religious shame.
16- I feel peace in my own skin when I don't believe that my natural self is an enemy to God.
17- I feel more connected to all life on earth when I believe we all have a single common evolutionary ancestor, and I have more respect for other organisms when I let go of religious human egomania.
18- When I let go of Mormon expectations for my life's path, a thousand possibilities open up for my future. Not being absolutely certain where life is going to take me is exhilarating.
19- When I reject Mormonism, my sense of goodness and morality is stripped down to elemental principles like kindness and freedom, and I have to think and study and decide for myself whether or not an activity is beneficial, instead of automatically labeling things as "sinful" or "righteous," based on a pre-made structure of principles that may be contrary to reality, or have nothing to do with my life.
But after I wrote this all down, I thought, "So why don't I leave just leave then? Why don't I pick up and leave Mormonism behind? There must be reasons why I stay." So I proceeded to write an equal and very opposite list, to illustrate the full extent of my cognitive dissonance.
Why do I keep my faith?
1- When I believe in Jesus Christ I believe that any problem I face can be overcome.2- When I believe in God I believe that I have a lasting purpose.
3- When I believe in God I believe events are directed, not random, which (in some cases) is comforting.
4- When I believe in God I believe that my thoughts and prayers can in reality affect people.
4- When I believe in God I believe I have unlimited potential.
5- When I believe in God I believe my feelings are significant instead of meaningless chemical reactions.
6- When I believe in God I believe all of my questions about the universe will eventually be revealed to me, instead of me ceasing to exist with unrequited curiosity.
7- When I believe in Jesus Christ I believe that the human race is worth infinite love.
8- When I believe in Jesus Christ I value kindness and forgiveness for others.
9- When I believe in God I believe love is transcendent instead of something that exists only so our genetic material has a greater chance of replicating. (We only love our families because we're more likely to survive if we stick with them, and we only fall in love so that reproduction is irresistible.)
10- When I believe in God I don't feel completely alone when I have no humans to turn to.
11- When I believe in God I have a sense of protection, rather than being subject to randomness, probability, and the cold impersonal universe that doesn't care how much pain I experience.
12- When I believe in the Mormon church I'm capable of feeling "the spirit", which is a feeling of warmth, understanding, excitement, love, and like any obstacle is surmountable.
13- When I believe in the Mormon church it is easier for me to feel a part of my social group.
14- When I believe in the Mormon church it is easier on my mind, for I have a predetermined schema given to me with which I can use to judge all ideas.
15- When I believe in religion I have a very concrete idea of morality, and it's easy to judge whether an activity is bad or good, rather than having to think and decide and risk making a poor decision.
16- When I believe in religion I believe that all loose ends with be tied up-- I will see dead loved ones again, all pain and suffering will be made up for, all injustices will be justified, all mysteries will be solved, all knowledge will be given.
17- When I believe in Mormonism I have a very clear idea of the way in which I'm going to parent my future children, instead of having no idea how to present the idea of religion to them.
18- When I believe in Mormonism, it is easier to listen to the things that people around me say, and I never feel uncomfortable around those who believe, and I don't feel the need to role my eyes.
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