There are a few threads running amok debating what beliefs we born with, if we choose our beliefs, or how we choose our beliefs.

I decided to make this thread specifically for what we are born believing.

After some careful thought, inspired by these threads, I decided to delve a little more into these details.

Where I was just so recently debating that we are born Atheist as being implicated by ignorance, I now see it differently. I have yet the confidence in any of the articles I have reviewed to reference them yet, but I have the personal confidence that they are true. Let me explain.

There are no undeniable claims to prove or disprove God, but that is not what this is about.

What is undeniable is that we are all born and have instincts. The most fundamental emotion being fear. Of course, there are many other primary emotions, but I am going to single out fear here. As infants, we are easily frightened by the world around us because we have little knowledge about it. We are still learning and need to rely on our elders to teach us what is safe and what is not safe.

We can also see that, in the animal kingdom, young animals do the same thing. It is easy to see that animals rely on their older animals to help teach them about how to survive (eg. a polar bear showing others how to swim or hibernate).

Now, it is within this mentality that I delved. What does the brain of a fearful infant think of the elders?

So I am actually pointing out the "we are all born ignorant" point. I no longer think that we are, in fact, born ignorant. It seems to me now that we are actually born with a predisposition towards spirituality. Now this is not precisely any specific God but just an overbearing spiritual entity that is involved in everything.

This is evident when we examine different tribes across the lands. Nearly (I say nearly because I have not studied all nor done a meta-analysis) all tribes across the world believe in some spiritual deity or group of Gods. They are all spiritual in description.

In fact, it almost seems necessary for things to believe in spirituality at birth - especially humans! Imagine the mind of a child that takes everything literally and for granted. For the child to believe in an empirical or existential perspective, it would spell great trouble for them as they would be questioning everything their elders said. Furthermore, it would encourage them to individualize them self away from their families.

It is actually evolutionary beneficial to be born believing in spirituality. As such, the child will undeniably behave in a way that they think they ought to behave.

In other lights, we can see how many arts depict parents as equivalent to Gods. We may even say it is better to believe that our parents are God-like in nature. But this is still functioning off the idea that the child ought to have a predisposed position for spirituality (ie. parents are spiritual and powerful).

I have yet to find empirical evidence that we are born predisposed to spirituality, but I have found some books and journals that claim to. I will share them when I explore them deeply. In the meantime, please share your thoughts.

(Note: I left this in ED as a neutral position to wait and see how the conversation carries on to better decide which forum to place it; it could very easily turn scientific, religious, philosophical, etc.).

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