Why I don’t believe in “belief”

belief /bĭ-lēf′/

noun

1. The mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another. “My belief in you is as strong as ever.”
2. Mental acceptance of and conviction in the truth, actuality, or validity of something. “His explanation of what happened defies belief.”
3. Something believed or accepted as true, especially a particular tenet or a body of tenets accepted by a group of persons.
4. Assent to a proposition or affirmation, or the acceptance of a fact, opinion, or assertion as real or true, without immediate personal knowledge; reliance upon word or testimony; partial or full assurance without positive knowledge or absolute certainty; persuasion; conviction; confidence.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

I don’t believe in belief because it’s stupid and self-destructive.

There are times when belief makes sense. Your child is playing a sport or enrolling in college and you tell them that you believe in them; it’s emotional and it’s supportive and it generally seems like a good thing.

You might say that you believe in something like democracy, socialism, or egalitarianism. That makes sense, too… you’re saying that you’ve (presumably) informed yourself on such concepts and you have concluded that they’re workable options. However, how well-informed you made yourself factors in to how much this sort of “belief” make sense.

When belief does more harm than good

Then there’s #4 in the list of definitions at the top of this post: “the acceptance … as real or true … without positive knowledge.” This is the dumb one and, dear reader, either you already know what I mean or it’s likely that everything else in this post will a) go over your head, b) piss you off, or c) both.

This ain’t rocket science, folks. Let me share an example. Jenny sees a light in the sky and it’s moving in an erratic pattern. Did Jenny see:

• An alien spacecraft
• Fairy lights
• A super-secret government project being tested
• A light in the sky moving in an erratic pattern

Jenny saw a light in the sky moving in an erratic pattern. Is it something? Yes. But Jenny doesn’t have the necessary information to decide what this light in fact was. If she chooses something – without knowledge or sufficient evidence – then she has chosen to believe that it’s what she wants it to be rather than what it is.

There are a couple of problems with this sort of behaviour that have serious implications. First off, from a scientific perspective, it encourages one to either a) stop looking for real answers or b) keep looking but twist everything that one finds into something that fits their narrative.

The other problem is that we will inevitably find people who agree with us, and not only will they reinforce our errors but we’ll start to feel like part of a tribe. For the vast majority of the time that Homo sapiens has existed, we lived in tribes, and this urge hasn’t left us. We want to feel the companionship and support of a group and, once we’re in one, we have a lot to lose if we change our minds about the ideas that brought us into the fold. We face losing friends, activities, and – to an extent – our identities if we suddenly find ourselves no longer part of our tribe.

Yup, tribes still exist

Tribes are all around us, to this day. You can be anything from a model railroader to a Vols fan and you have something that feels – to varying degrees – like a tribe. If you’re a military veteran, a motorcycle rider, or go to church, you have a tribe. These are generally things that make us feel good because we can get together with people who share common interests and enjoy ourselves surrounded by people who we feel like are part of our group. Nothing wrong with this at all, in this writer’s opinion; I think it’s natural and healthy.

That said… when’s the last time that you heard of a model railroading group declaring war on the guys down the street who fly remote-controlled planes on the week-end? We don’t fight each other because some people like vanilla ice cream while other prefer rocky-road and I’m pretty sure there’s never been one death between those who prefer The Family Guy vs. The Simpsons.

What we humans do kill over – and have done throughout history – is religion, borders, skin colour, and sociopolitical ideologies.

I get it; it makes us feel better. Sometimes.

My ancient book – which is full of claims that violate both science and our personal (verifiable) experiences – is better than your ancient book (also full of claims that violate both science and our personal, verifiable experiences). Mine is true because… why?

Because we decided it was true. Because it was comforting to stop searching and just “accept.” Because our parents believed it and our friends believed it and if we didn’t we’d be ostracized. Because we’re scared of the unknown. Because we don’t like not having answers.

Because we’re sentient beings living on a rock floating in space in a universe that’s incomprehensibly vast and we have no idea if we’re alone in it or not, and – in the case of the latter – when we’ll encounter them and whether or not they’ll be friendly.

Because we’re all going to die and we don’t know what that means other than “not here.”

It’s okay with me… if…

Despite what some might claim (because, you know, they believe it), America was founded on principles that allowed people to believe – or not – as they saw fit. It was founded by people who risked their lives repeatedly to escape a world in which beliefs were forced upon people. Why? Because they’d seen, lived, felt the impact… and trust me, no matter what today’s Christian Nationalists think, if they get their way they’ll pay the price for not having paid attention in seventh-grade history class. History has shown over and over, this shit never works out to the benefit of any but a handful of string-pullers.

I don’t care what you believe. Santa is real? Fine, he’s cool. Easter Bunny, Jesus, Thor, Zeus… I swear, I don’t care. Except when you elect people who write laws and execute court rulings based on what you believe. (Notice I said “what you believe” … chances are, they don’t believe it; they’re just using it – and you – to get ahead.) You want to tell me I should submit to rules that are from an ancient book for which you have no evidence beyond your ability to make stuff up that suits your narrative? Nope, no thanks.

When people allow belief to affect their reality to the degree that religions and many political movements have, they’re attacking everyone else who doesn’t feel the same way. It’s anti-democratic and its un-American.