Many say their own faith is based in reason, but others' beliefs are grounded in emotion, writes Michael Shermer in Why Darwin Matters.Who believes in God?In this survey Shermer and Sulloway also asked for the reasons people give for their own beliefs versus the reasons they attribute to other people's beliefs. Their findings were that people consider their own beliefs as being rationally motivated whereas they see the beliefs of others as being emotionally driven.
by Michael Shermer
February 3, 2007
Why do you believe in God? I have been asking people this question for most of my adult life. In 1998, Frank Sulloway and I presented the query in a more official format – along with the question 'Why do you think other people believe in God?' – in a survey given to 10,000 Americans. ...
When Sulloway and I noticed the difference between why people believe in God and why they think other people believe in God, we decided to undertake an extensive analysis of all the written answers people provided in our survey. In addition, we inquired about family demographics, religious background, personality characteristics, and other factors that contribute to religious belief and skepticism. We discovered that the seven strongest predictors of belief in God are:"
1. being raised in a religious manner
2. parents' religiosity
3. lower levels of education
4. being female
5. a large family
6. lack of conflict with parents
7. being younger
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