COLUMBUS – Science and religion don’t always get along. In fact, they have often been mortal enemies. But, an OSU psychologist has used to science to try to explain why so many people are attracted to religion.
IN a new book, “The 16 Strivings for God,” OSU professor emeritus Steven Reiss says religion attracts followers because it satisfies all of the 16 basic desires that humans share.
“It’s not just about fear of death,” he said. “People are attracted to religion because it provides believers the opportunity to satisfy all their basic desires over and over again. You can’t boil religion down to one essence.”
Research by Reiss and others in the 1990s identified 16 basic desires that humans have in common: acceptance, curiosity, eating, family, honor, idealism, independence, order, physical activity, power, romance, saving, social contact, status, tranquility and vengeance.
All religious beliefs and practices are designed to meet one or more of these 16 desires, Reiss explained.
Religious teachings about salvation and forgiveness tap into the basic human need for acceptance. Promises of an afterlife are designed to help people achieve tranquility. A religion that teaches us to “turn the other cheek” satisfies the desire for vengeance, but so do religions that feature a wrathful or vengeful God.