Ok, bear with me... Mankind is developing a new type of religion: conspiracy-theorism.
1. At the heart of religion is the philosophy of "animism": Things are this way, because SOMEONE made the SUBJECTIVE DECISION for things to be this way.
2. Religion gives a set of morals and knowledge. It aides you in making difficult decisions and it gives you the assurance of knowing the world and your place in the world.
3. Having the correct religion automatically makes you better than other people, on an immaterial, moral, esoteric, supernatural level.
The material successes of science since the 18th century have lead to people slowly but surely turning away from religion: The number of self-proclaimed religious people is shrinking.
BUT... On an emotional level, people still desire and need the comforts religion provides.
(As an agnostic scientist, I can say that it is possible to find emotional and moral comfort and cosmic beauty in the naturalist world-view, but it takes some time and you need to get really deep into it.)
So, while people reject the notion of religion, not only publicly but to the point of lying to themselves and denying their true selves, deep down on a subconscious level they still desire the spoils of religion.
And THIS is the reason why these non-religious people have created their own new religion: conspiracy-theories.
1. Why are things the way they are? Because some unaccountable cabal of people made it that way. (Unaccountable and untouchable, outside of the realm of law and elections, essentially a "supernatural" power.)
2. Conspiracy-theories provide you with the knowledge how the world ACTUALLY works.
3. Knowing this conspiracy-theory automatically makes you a GENIUS. Defending this conspiracy-theory and seeking to spread it automatically makes you a HERO, because it makes you stand in opposition to the Big Evil.
My point is: While traditional, organized religion is slowly dying over the centuries, a disorganized new type of religion has recently emerged:
The belief in conspiracy-theories.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Response to brewens (Reply #6)
Religions are more complex. Spare you the detail to avoid controversy ...
So here's a good article and I'll just quote a bit.
Read it. It's simple and to the point.
I'd like to quote more but rules don't allow it and Wikipedia is way too complex.
Why Do People Believe in Conspiracy Theories?
The need to find order in a confusing world.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-apes/201801/why-do-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories
The researchers found that reasons for believing in conspiracy theories can be grouped into three categories:
• The desire for understanding and certainty
• The desire for control and security
• The desire to maintain a positive self-image
This seems to explain a lot of it:
IMO: The turn away from religion, in our times, has a lot to do with (how to say this politely?) the hypocrisy of some so-called religious groups and leaders who preach one thing and seek the opposite for themselves, be it secular power or other sleaze.
Many of us (being neither scholars nor theologians) became aware of this phenomenon courtesy of "Elmer Gantry" --- the novel by Sinclair Lewis in 1927 and the movie in 1960.
