But data shows that increasing human Athiesm and decreasing human Theism is proof we are catching up!
In a sense, all animals including mankind believe in a form of god. We humans call god god but the lower animals if they could communicate with us, would likely think that their Father Complex was god. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_complex That is where we store our behavioral patterns and lower animals likely have that same type of pattern. It is within our genes and DNA. Regards DL
I think the idea of god comes from the conflict between our desire for endless survival of ourselves and loved ones and what we observe in the world, which as far as we can measure conflicts with that desire. This emotionally unacceptable idea makes people ready to accept comforting delusions. The separation of religion from individual delusion is that historical scaffold that is built by generations with oral traditions, and later writing. I do think it's possible that animals with an awareness of death can have delusions about life after death and god. Elephants clearly mourn their dead, visit their graves, and remember. I do not think their communication is really sophisticated enough for a religion, but it's probably the case that some of them have delusions about an elephant god of some sort taking care of their dead family members and eventually themselves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_behavior_in_animals
If say, monkeys had a god, guess what that god would look like! Yep, you guessed it, it would look like THEM. Just like when humans invent a god, it looks like THEM! The Shinto gods are....wait.....wait.....wait for it.....JAPANESE (what a shock, what are the odds of that happening!?)!! See how simplistic religions are?
Intriguing question....... one thing that I am convinced of is that our deceased pets look forward to meeting us when we do pass on. https://www.near-death.com/experiences/with-pets/jan-price.html Here she is on video: Oh... can somebody tell me what language that is that the subtitles are in?
You may want to see this. Biologists Confirm God Evolved From Chimpanzee Deity https://www.theonion.com/biologists-confirm-god-evolved-from-chimpanzee-deity-1819576363
Well that WOULD help to explain why god in the Bible is such a barbarian - ordering the killing of innocent women and children even, etc.
Yes, too afraid to stand up to an immoral, barbaric god. Modern Secular Humanists, on the other hand, have INDEED found the courage to stand up to the barbarian known as "god".
You know? On that measure, how are humans any different? Nobody knows of course but all the physiological and psychological evidence suggests other species don't have the mental capacity to believe in any gods in anything like the way we talk about the concepts. I'd say that's pretty much a certainty for the vast majority of species, with only a handful being anywhere close to our level of consciousness, which would need to be the starting point.
I would have to say, "no". Very few animals even believe in the existence of the other individuals of their own species! (sense of "self" and "other") I would say this is an absolute requirement to believe in a distinct god, an entity separate from itself. But, let's consider the animals that do seem to exhhibit a true sense of self and other. To think of a god would require not just sense of self and other, but also "introspective self awareness", i.e., being aware of being self aware. Only then can a creature truly understand motivations and feelings of themselves and others. I mention this, because I can imagine a chimpanzee shaking his fist and howling at the sky when lightning strikes, and even, perhaps, "perceiving" this as behavior wrought by a living creature (the mean, grey monster in the sky). I don't think that constitutes "theism", though it's easy to draw a parallel to deism. But what i cannot imagine is this same ape assigning any sort of plan to the sky monster or having any understanding of what it may feel like to be a grey sky monster, or how a grey sky monster might feel about the chimp shaking its fist and howling. This is not belief in a god, anymore than their belief in humans is a belief in gods. We're just a big, pink animal that they grew accustomed to.
