Each person decides the question of faith for himself personally, since it depends exclusively on himself whether to believe in the existence of God or to deny him, based on certain reflections. And if it is rather difficult to understand the motives of believers, then the position of atheists is much easier to comprehend.
Reason versus faith
In fact, people who deny the existence of God can be divided into two groups. The first includes individuals with critical thinking who require irrefutable evidence of the presence of a higher spiritual principle. As a rule, such people have a sufficiently developed intellect that makes them skeptical about religious rhetoric.
Since in modern conditions there is no way to scientifically prove that God exists, skeptics make a logically correct conclusion about the absence of a higher being who controls human life. Those manifestations of "divine power" that the official church calls "miracles" are perceived by atheists either as a coincidence, or as unexplored natural phenomena, or as fraud and manipulation of facts.
It is widely believed that faith is a conscious rejection of knowledge and attempts to prove or disprove a certain statement by scientific method. Scientists from two American universities argue that the IQ scores of atheists have always been slightly higher than those of believers. This is due to the fact that the more a person is inclined to comprehend reality, the less opportunity he has for faith.
Faith versus religion
Representatives of the second group of non-believers, in principle, admit the presence of supernatural power, but tend to disagree with the basic tenets of religions. It should be borne in mind that most religious institutions were created to form the moral and ethical paradigm of society, that is, to introduce into the public consciousness norms and rules based on morality, and not on the laws of the state. Naturally, at all times there were people who preferred to move along the path of spiritual development on their own, without the instructions of the church.
In addition, most religions impose a number of restrictions on their followers, which are not always easy to observe. As a result, a person who generally agrees with the position of a particular religion refuses to profess it, as he is dissatisfied with the existing prohibitions. Finally, there are those who view the official religions as socio-economic institutions rather than a means to gain spiritual perfection. To some extent, this statement is true, since the important role of religion is not only to help the individual find God, but also to create a morally healthy society. However, the “secular” activities of religious leaders can disappoint their followers.
