I\u2019m in agreement with his core points: indoctrination is bad, community is good, and we should be honest with ourselves and with each other about the limitations of what we know and what we can<\/em> know.<\/p>\n At the same time, to declare \u201call beliefs are assumptions\u201d puts all beliefs on the same level. It ignores the fact that while all beliefs are uncertain (otherwise they\u2019d be facts), some beliefs are more likely to be true than others. More importantly, some beliefs are helpful and other beliefs are harmful.<\/p>\n Whether we are \u201cdeconstructing\u201d an old religion (which seems to be the context of Forehand\u2019s post), working to recover from toxic religion, or trying to build a spiritual framework that works for us, it\u2019s important to understand the concept of belief and to make sure what we believe is something that\u2019s meaningful and helpful to us, and not what we were told we had to believe.<\/p>\n Belief is accepting something as true without proof that it is true.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a bad thing. It\u2019s a necessary thing. The world is far too big and far too complicated for each of us to personally validate that everything we encounter is either true or not true. We believe the TV weather person when they say it\u2019s going to rain tomorrow\u2026 and if we\u2019re wise, we pay attention when they say there\u2019s an 80% chance of rain and not a 100% chance.<\/p>\n Is that an assumption? Yes, but it\u2019s a reasonable assumption. The TV weather person is a trained meteorologist, who bases their forecast on computer models that have proven to be reliable in the past, tempered with their own projections. Our assumptions are supported by evidence\u2026 even though we know that sometimes the weather does things that are totally unexpected.<\/p>\n [The devaluation \u2013 and in many cases, the outright rejection \u2013 of subject matter experts is a major problem for our current society. That\u2019s another rant for another time.]<\/p>\n A belief isn\u2019t an assumption. It\u2019s something we build off of our assumptions about the world and how it works, about which sources of information we can trust and which sources we can\u2019t. This is why it\u2019s important to have a strong metaphysics<\/a>.<\/p>\n The weather forecast is one thing. What comes after death is something very different.<\/p>\n There is no hard data for life after death or for the existence of the Gods. But while we have no proof such things exist, we have evidence.<\/p>\n Animism points us toward the primacy of consciousness and away from the primacy of matter. The seasons and cycles of nature point us toward a cyclical model of life and away from a linear model. Past life memories strongly indicate that there\u2019s something more than this one life in this one world.<\/p>\n Proof? No. Evidence? Yes. Choose what seems most likely to you.<\/p>\n Almost 10 years ago I wrote this<\/a>:<\/p>\n Do your beliefs about the afterlife help you face your inevitable death with confidence? Or \u2013 like so many who worry about heaven and hell \u2013 do they fill you with fear and dread?<\/p>\n Does your contemplation of death remind you to live fully here and now, to make the most of every day? Or does it push you to ignore this beautiful world and focus on earning a better place in an afterlife that may not even exist?<\/p>\n Does the reality of untimely deaths motivate you to build a better world for all? Or does it tell you not to bother, because everything will be OK for them on the other side?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n What we believe isn\u2019t nearly as important as what we do with our beliefs.<\/p>\n Too many times, when people say their \u201cdeeply held religious beliefs\u201d cause them to take a political position, they\u2019re not expressing a metaphysical proposition or claiming that reason and experience have led them to a religious conclusion. Instead, they\u2019re expressing an intuitive preference for one cultural norm over all others.<\/p>\n Christian fundamentalists mistake Ancient Near East culture for \u201cthe word of God.\u201d Or they mistake white nationalism<\/a> for eternal truth.<\/p>\n On one hand, this is understandable. The idea that religion is all about what you believe is a mistake. For most people in most of the world throughout most of history, religion was and is about what you do, who you are, and whose you are. The problem comes when people think that their particular religion \u2013 based on their particular cultural norms \u2013 is a universal religion intended for everyone everywhere.<\/p>\n And that idea leads them to assume they\u2019re entitled to enforce their religion on other people who don\u2019t share their culture or their foundational assumptions about the world and how it works.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a Pagan who practices magic and worships many Gods. I live in a glass house and so I try not to throw stones.<\/p>\n But if we are honest \u2013 with each other and especially with ourselves \u2013 we will understand that while uncertainty leaves room for many different beliefs, it does not leave room to believe anything we want.<\/p>\n We do not know the ultimate origin of the Universe. I suspect that\u2019s not just beyond our knowledge, but beyond our capacity to know. Still, while we are free to speculate about how things began, some ideas are more likely than others. Young Earth Creationism \u2013 the idea that humans were created in our current form 6000 years ago \u2013 is demonstrably false.<\/p>\n And if your religious \u201cmetanarrative\u201d is dependent on Young Earth Creationism, the proper response is to find another metanarrative<\/a>, not to twist yourself into metaphysical knots to prop up something that clearly isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n The idea that religion is all about which set of supernatural propositions you accept and which ones you reject is a modern, Western, Protestant thing.<\/p>\n Marcus Aurelius almost certainly\u00a0did not say it<\/a>, but it\u2019s still true:<\/p>\n Live a good life. If there are Gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are Gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no Gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Your beliefs don\u2019t make you a good person \u2013 your actions do.<\/p>\n We should try to believe things that are likely to be true and not believe things that are likely to be false. At the same time, given the uncertainty around big religious questions, truth is an impossible standard by which to judge our beliefs and especially the beliefs of others.<\/p>\n But we can judge beliefs by the results the create.<\/p>\n Do your beliefs inspire you to live in harmony with other people, other animals, and the rest of Nature? Or do they tell you you\u2019re special and entitled to rule over others?<\/p>\n Do your beliefs help you to live according to your highest values and virtues, or do they tell you do mindlessly obey someone\u2019s arbitrary rules?<\/p>\n Do your beliefs help you to deal with the mysteries of birth and death, and the reality of your own death? Or do they fill you with fear and dread for an afterlife that may or may not actually exist?<\/p>\n Some beliefs are helpful and other beliefs are harmful. Let\u2019s support the ones that are helpful.<\/p>\n The Jesuits say \u201cgive me the boy until he is seven and I will give you the man.\u201d<\/p>\n When we\u2019re children, we believe what we\u2019re taught. Of course we do \u2013 even the smartest among us are young, ignorant, and na\u00efve. The problem is that most people never move beyond this \u2013 they never think to question what they were told was true. If we\u2019re mindful, though, at some point the problems start to appear.<\/p>\n Why is our religion right and everyone else is wrong? Why would a supposedly all wise, all powerful, and all loving God create a world with such needless and abject suffering? Why would such a God create a system where the vast majority of people are going to end up in eternal torment?<\/p>\n Our problem is that by the time we start asking these questions, these toxic belief are already embedded into our brains \u2013 into our souls. We may say we don\u2019t believe them anymore, but the stories and songs and sermons are still there.<\/p>\n![\"photo](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/243\/2025\/08\/Lory-State-Park-07.28.25-01-1024x768.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhat is belief?<\/h2>\n
Some things require belief<\/h2>\n
Some beliefs are cultural preferences<\/h2>\n
Some beliefs are so unlikely we can dismiss them \u2013 and we should<\/h2>\n
Belief is not the most important thing<\/h2>\n
Are your beliefs helpful or harmful?<\/h2>\n
Most people believe what they\u2019ve always been told to believe<\/h2>\n