Is religion comforting?
A few months ago, my Christian friend and I would often talk about Christianity, but it felt like we were talking past one another. We thought it might be useful to bring in other perspectives, so we organized a small discussion night with about twenty other people. We sat in a circle, and three of us had prepared short presentations to help kickstart the conversation and get the juices flowing. This article is what I presented that evening. And I added notes for clarifications.
An Agnostic’s Point of View
Imagine living in a cave twenty thousand years ago. You see a bush shaking in the distance. There is no word for wind yet. No science. No explanations.
So that night you sit around the fire with your tribe, maybe sharing food or even local hallucinogens, and you begin to tell stories.
One hunter then says, “My father went fishing last year, and the sky turned black, the air pushed him, and the darkness took him into the water”. Naturally, the tribe concludes that the higher powers of wind, water, and darkness took him away.
Humans have always wanted to make sense of the world. And thats how religion began. It’s humanity’s first attempt to understand and survive a mysterious world. (Note 1)
At first, religion explained the unexplainable.
But people needed more than reasons. They needed hope.
When someone died, you wanted to hear, “They are not gone forever”.
When injustice happened, you wanted to hear, “There will be judgment”.
When people suffered, you wanted to hear, “There is meaning behind the pain”.
Religion told us that chaos is not random. It is part of a story, and we belong in it.
Then came a revolution. Monotheism.
Judaism, one of the world’s first truly monotheistic faiths, declared that there are not hundreds of gods fighting above us. There is one.
One God who made everything, who cares about justice, who sees every individual.
And that was a breakthrough. Suddenly, you did not have to be a priest or a king to matter. If one God created everyone, then everyone mattered.
That idea, equality under a single divine order, spread through Christianity and Islam.
Christianity said: “There is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
Islam said: “The most noble among you is the most righteous.” (Qur’an 49:13)
Judaism said: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34)
Each promised a God who knows you personally and who will judge you fairly and individually. He evaluates humans on the basis of character and righteousness, not social rank or identity.
Even Hinduism and Buddhism, though not centered on a single judging God, shared the same moral insight. Karma, rebirth, cause and effect. Every life has meaning, and actions matter.
In their best form, all major religions teach the same core truths.
That all humans have value.
That actions have consequences.
That justice, whether divine or moral, will ultimately prevail.
Religion tells you:
You’re seen.
You’re not alone.
Your pain isn’t pointless.
Your life has meaning.
That’s why the poor, the grieving, and the lost often hold onto religion most tightly, as it offers a form of hope that isn’t dependent on circumstances.
In poorer countries like Ethiopia, the Philippines, or Pakistan, more than ninety percent of people say faith is central to their lives. In wealthier places like Sweden or Japan, that number falls below a quarter. (Note 2)
That’s the pattern I see; when life is good, belief is optional.
And whether religion true or not, that comfort is real. You can see it in those who find strength in prayer, forgiveness, or simply the belief that someone greater is watching over them.
So yes, religion is comforting.
It began when a frightened tribe imagined a god of darkness. And it continues today when someone, lost in darkness, whispers a prayer and feels peace inside.
Afterthought: Rereading this I realize how much religion accomplishes at once. Religion did not only explain the world. It helped people cope with suffering and uncertainty, and it gave them a sense of belonging. Shared beliefs, rituals, and stories created communities, and communities made survival easier. It’s an entire framework that people can use as a heuristic to lean on.
I also took the stance that religion is comforting, but since then I’ve realized that this isn’t true for everyone. For some people, especially those raised in strict religious environments who later encounter different beliefs, religion can feel more restrictive than reassuring. Instead of belonging, it can create tension, guilt, or the feeling of living a double life. For those trying to step away from a tight community or strong expectations, religion is not a source of comfort at all. It can feel like something they have to push against in order to be themselves.
Notes
1
I will now admit that I don’t know if that’s how religion began. Of course it’s not that simple.
I just quickly checked, and the origins of religion are debated. Simply put, some people see religion as a way humans made sense of uncertainty and danger, but others emphasize its role in social bonding, ritual behavior, and “group identity”/”identity formation” as equally important factors. Again, this is simply an opinion piece.
2
There is a clear correlation between religiosity and socioeconomic status. That’s clear. You can name countries like Italy (75%+ identify as Catholic Christians) or Greece (where 80%+ are Orthodox Christians) which are relatively rich and also religious, but these are exceptions, not the rule.
And it is also important to note that correlation does not always imply causation. This is something I haven’t dove too deep into. The proper thing to do is read articles/studies such as this one, this one, or this one.
From my understanding, “poverty” (however it is measured, but one way is to check the GDP per capita) is a proxy for many social changes such as education, urbanization, welfare capacity, political stability, and all these may also affect religiosity.
We can take any one of these and dive so deep into them and find many implications.
For example, urbanization. This just means how many people live in cities instead of villages. Why it’s important? Cities expose people to more diversity of beliefs. Cities weaken social control from traditional communities. Cities make life more anonymous and individualistic. An individual is more likely to put their religious views to the side, and explore the other worldviews that life has to offer.
What about welfare? This just means that the state is able to support people when things go wrong. When you lose your job. When you break your arm. When you retire. The church/community used to provide this. If you need a place to stay for 2 months while you look for a job, they will provide that through their network. Now, the government can provide to you through the money collected from millions of strangers (or money printing). There are social workers to provide emotional support as well. There are mental health experts who you can talk to about your problems. (There are pros and cons to this obviously. You are just a number to them. They get paid either way. For a tight-knit community, you are probably more important. This doesn’t mean that they will always provide better solutions though.)
I just realized I should just expand on all four points for a completeness of thought. Also, each one of these can be looked into way more deeply. I didn’t do that. I’m just saying what makes sense to me, intuitively. Doesn’t mean it’s necessarily right.
Next, education. Education is a big one with many implications. It provides exposure to science and critical thinking. It provides exposure to alternative (notably secular) worldviews. It provides literacy and access to information. It takes the child away from the community for over half the day and provides all of the aforementioned, all of which shape religious beliefs of an individual. Education also tends to increase income and job stability later in life, which can bring a greater sense of security and reduce reliance on religion as a coping mechanism. Educated people tend to trust science and institutions more, and rely less on religious authority.
And finally, political stability. The more predictable, safe, and orderly a country’s political environment, the less people tend to rely on religion as a source of security and certainty. If there is no war, there is no corruption, the law works, there are no unpredictable life-altering events, reliance on religion drops.
So my point is that GDP/poverty is not a single cause. Sure, being poor increases reliance on local religious networks. But the causal path is more indirect and multi-layered. It is oftentimes (if not always) wrong to simplify relationships and talk about isolated causal drivers.
Also, all of this also doesn’t mean that being religious will make you poor. Okay unless maybe in certain sects, such as televangelists (some of their “leaders”/voices are worth hundreds of millions).