People Believe in God Because Religion Meets 16 Fundamental Needs of Humans, Claims Study

As per the latest study and theory, humans follow God because it helps them satisfy 16 of their basic needs. Professor Steven Reiss, Ohio State University Psychologist, says that this is what explains the why all the major religions are so contradictory to one another. He also adds that it is impossible to think of religion in terms of a single motivation. He also adds that god's existence is not that important because all the beliefs on which religions are built are directed towards meeting fundamental human needs. If the religion that you are building requires too many followers, then you would need to address their needs in strong and weak form, reports Daily Mail. If you teach that the best way to reach god is through introversion, then it will not appeal to the extroverts and vice versa. This is the reason the reason, religion is required to support the beliefs of all these people.

Professor Reiss finally lays down the psychology behind the religion and breaks it down to 16 basic requirements of human beings. It is because of this reason that one religion is so different from another. For the religion to sustain, it is important for it to appeal to the human nature across various levels. According to him, 16 human desires are - curiosity, order, acceptance, family, idealism, honor, independence, physical activity, power, romance, saving, social contact, eating, tranquility, status, and vengeance, says Express.

In his attempt to study the religion, Professor Reiss looked at 270 different religions and tried to connect them to basic human needs. The difference in personal preference also explains why people choose to follow one religion over another. For example, the Christian belief of being part of a flock will draw all the people who value family, according to Daily Mail.