Why are people religious?

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Why do they believe strange things without evident?

I once heard a story about an anti missile operator that got to decide whether an incoming missile is loaded with nuclear weapons or just a dud.

He got to think whether he should launch the reasonably anti missile operator.

Most people would agree that it make sense to believe that the missile is real.

Here, the payoff, instead of the evidence, decides what a person believe.

Make sense.

Any more comprehensive Math model? What other factors despite evidences, influences people beliefs?

I believe people are religious due to multiple factors. For some, it may be a need to serve a higher power, for others, they just need answers. Others still just need something to believe in.

"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him." -- Voltaire

Yep....Voltaire hit the nail on the head!

Freud also believed in essentially the same thing.

Most religious people are that way, because they are brought up with it from the time they are small children, too young to question it. And growing up surrounded by other people who believe in it, it becomes too deeply ingrained in them to just walk away from it. Some people reject the religion they were brought up with, but end up having to replace it with another one because they are so accustomed to having that framework around them.

Also some people turn to religion later in life, because they have some mystical experiences that they can't explain to themselves, and religion gives them a context for understanding it.

We're talking about two different things here. To have "Faith" is to believe in things for which there is no empirical evidence. To have "Religion" is to have a structured expression of faith.

Thus, mere faith is inconsequential until acted upon. Someone might have faith in invisible pink unicorns, for example, but their faith won't mean anything until they express their faith and build a special place for the unicorn to sleep, grow special food to feed it, and talk to it as if it could hear and understand English.

Somewhere in the Bible it says that faith without acts is a dead faith. This may be why we see many Christians acting on their faith even when their actions make no sense to the rest of us.

Religious belief can also be useful. If everyone around you believes a religion, believing the same thing makes it easier to get along.

Many people preferentially buy from businesses that talk about religion (e.g. Chick-fil-a closes on Sundays, has spoken against gay marriage, and has a very favorable reputation with religious people). Christian bookstores are another example of this; their religion gives access to a niche market.

Here is another that strikes me

People like to hear what they already believe. It's called confirmation bias.

So if you live in muslim country, chance is you'll be more and more "muslim".

So any beliefs tend to grown and dominate

The more people believe that Jesus is God, or that there is only one God, or stuff. The more people will believe it.

Then when there are evidences that's against your belief, people would hide avoid or swipe that under radar.

For example, let's look at thebricktestament.

It contains many stories in the bible that sunday school teachers rarely mention.

Or what about documentary hypothesis stating that there are many elohims and Yahweh is just one of them? That fact is hidden well because in most english translation of the bible, Yahweh is replaced by the lord, and elohim is translated into god, God, angels, judge, to fit monotheism.

I don't know there are so many reasons and also depends on the person
Twist: science is too blunt and direct and clear to be the ultimate truth

I don't believe there can be true/complete/perfect Justice without the existence of a Supreme Being.

Someone might argue that justice is a social construct based on the values of a society. I personally find this lacking because it is always changing, then, and impossible to determine whether or not one society is "more just" than another. Also, one who is treated unjustly really has no right to complain about it, because society is acting upon the values that it has.

Without a Supreme Being who sets up ultimate "right and wrong", morality is flexible and evolving. Who's to say what is right and wrong - it can change. So, injustice is ultimately undefinable as well. If you are treated poorly, too bad for you.

Governments are corrupt, individuals are corrupt. Even if society sets its own standard for justice, who in that society perfectly follows the laws and can administer justice impartially. Justice is a farce without the existence of a Supreme Being.

Some people are comfortable with that. But, I guess because I feel that pain and suffering need to mean something and all the hurts in some way need to be accounted for, I put my faith in a God. I have had various personal experiences to back that up, but I suppose they are not "provable" since it's just my own testimony about what happened.

As far as religion goes, I decided to be a Christian after first believing there must be a God, and then researching the major world religions.

My decisions have definitely been more philosophically-based than science-based.

While ideas of justice - including religious ideas - change over time, I think that's a good thing. The justice of a few hundred years ago included slavery, conquest, and many other evils. The justice of Christianity changes regularly, as well: in just a few years, I have seen many religious people go from believing homosexuals are destroying the culture, to talking about 'loving the sinner'. This isn't an isolated effect in a few denominations, it's a general trend affecting most Christians.

While justice may be culturally determined, the culture in turn is determined by people. If you don't like your culture's justice, then you can work to change it, especially if you're in a democratic country. Justice will never be perfect or complete - even if you believe in a god, you must still acknowledge that the humans of a religion are imperfect - but belief in a changeable justice allows it to be improved. Not only improved, but also adapted to new circumstances.

People are religious because they can.

Who said "they believe strange things"?

I believe that the stories of the Bible are metaphorical. A lot of religious people and scholars believe the same way.

When I attend church services, I do so because I like the sense of community within the church I attend & I like the Pastor's outlook & way of thinking. I enjoy his sermons.

How do either of those equate to "believing strange things"? What "strange things" do I believe?

I agree that we should work towards having good justice in the here-and-now as best we can. Ultimately, human justice systems are at best a tarnished reflection of true justice. That's the way it is in an imperfect world.

How can one culture call another culture wrong, though? If justice is culturally determined, then we shouldn't have any say over what is right and wrong, which carried out to its full extent will result in chaos and endless conflict (which we already see) as cultures fight against each other due to differing values/morals and ideas of justice.

The Bible doesn't change. Views of it has changed, and one can argue over whether certain views are more- or less- in line with what the Bible teaches, and frankly that should be left up to the people who actually know and understand the Bible fully, which is not most people.

Justice is different than morals. They are related, but they are not the same. Justice is calling someone to account when they have wronged another. Morals reflect values.

By conquering it, thus proving to be superior according to the only universal law---the law of the jungle. Victors get to write history to make the defeated look like soulless degenerates, not the other way round.

You are only explaining here how one culture can enforce it's values on other people. You are not explaining how the judgment is made in the first place.

I thing religion is just the mis-application of social ability. This is not my original idea either.

Let me explain. Most people have the ability to infer the intentions of others. This skills helps us learn language when we have to figure out what our caregivers are referring to and mean.

This very useful skill though gets misapplied. Why did the volcano blow up? Well I don't know but I will make up a story about how God was angry for some reason or other. Basically people try to use their social ability to explain the natural world.

Some Aspies I know are very religious for different reasons. They like the clearly defined rules.

In general though, people have misapplied their social ability to claim they know the intentions of the supreme being. It's the ultimate triumph for an NT. Not only can they understand other people, but God as well. Wow!

They once enough people accept it, it's used as a power tool. Follow our rules or get outcast from this group. That's basic NT sociology. Make an example of people who don't follow your rules to motivate everyone to do so. Ha ha no heaven for you sinners!

By the way, I am NT so I am saying bad things about my group. I am not insulting other people for their lack of understanding. My dad was an Aspie and very religious for defined social structure it provided him.