Why do so many people cling to their faith, even when all the evidence seems to point away from it? I've made videos in the past about how strong the community aspect is: They don't want to lose their friends. They don't want to lose their social circle, so they remain in the church. But here's another reason, maybe the biggest reason why so many people who have serious doubts about their faith, or don't believe in God, are reluctant to call themselves atheists. They've invested too much of their life into their religion and giving up now would be seen as an admission of failure.
So, instead of cutting all ties with religion, they just keep on believing. This is known in economics as the "sunk cost fallacy." You've already put in so much time and money... And you're not going to get it back. So, you might as well just pour even more into that black hole. You could argue it's the same reason we keep sending troops into the Middle East. You know, after everything we've been through, we can't just raise a white flag of surrender now, even though it may be a lost cause. It's the reason so many people keep pouring quarters into the slot machine, even when they don't win. Because they go from wanting to win a jackpot to wanting to just break even, to wanting to just not lose as much money. It's the same reason people may not want to break up with someone, even if they're no longer in love. Because what is that say about you if you break up? Isn't that like admitting that the past several years have been wasted? It's the reason you can't stop playing Candy Crush even though you know it's taking over your life. And this is what's going on with religion. When you spend so many hours of your life praying, and going to church, and traveling on mission trips. And when you give 10% of your income to your church as a tithe week after week, year after year, it makes it that much harder to say, "I was wrong this whole time." This is especially true for pastors who begin having doubts about what they're preaching. You know, "I went to seminary! I can't back out now!" That's why The Clergy Project, which helps so many of these pastors get out of the pulpit, is such a great resource. But what we have to realize is that if we keep throwing good money after bad, if we keep going to church even though we no longer believe what's being preached, it's irrational. I know it's hard to admit you were wrong, but it is so much worse if you keep doing the same thing, over and over, just to save face. You'll be happier once you've broken free. I've never heard a person who got out of a shitty relationship say, "I should have held out a few more years." No, they're always saying, "I wish I have done this sooner." Speaking of economics, there's also a saying that the best time to start investing is now. No matter how old you are, now is better than later. The same goes for religion. If you're having doubts, the answer isn't to keep going to church hoping that it'll eventually make sense again. It's not going to. The spell wore off. It's time to leave and you'll be happier in the long run. My name is Hemant Mehta and I write at FriendlyAtheist.com Leave a comment below and we'll be sure to check it out. And don't forget to subscribe.
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