Philosophy Now Forum

Posted: **Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:40 am**

Most are defensive when I proposed the root cause of religions is driven by the Subconscious Fear of Death.

Here is an explanation, how and why?

It is contended by many here, there is no subconscious fear of death.
Point here is, because it is subconscious, we cannot consciously knows the subconscious fear of death.
It is the same with many primal instincts and emotions, we are not conscious of them, but then scientists are able to infer the full mechanisms of these instincts and emotions that operate within the subconscious levels.

Take for example, the emotion of anger.
The emotion of anger operates at the subconscious and conscious levels.
Many of the responses of anger happened in the brain and body at the subconscious level without the person being conscious of it. This is why some murderers killed spontaneously in response to the subconscious levels trigger of the 'anger' emotion.
The person is aware of one's anger emotion consciously after feeling certain reactions of the body or seeing someone killed or other consequences that resulted from the anger responses.

The above mechanism of the emotion of fear is the same for that of anger.
The emotion of fear also operates at the subconscious and conscious levels. [A]
This principle is supported by tons of research on emotion and emotion of fear.
Thus when one sees a spider, the brain interprets the data of a spider and reacts accordingly initially as the subconscious level, then one is conscious one is has a fear of spider.

BUT, the fear of death is very unique from all other fears
To avoid death, it would be logical to fear death.
Re [A] this fear of death operates at the subconscious and conscious levels.
Thus when the person sees or learn of death empirically, there will be triggers at the subconscious levels initially as a the first response.

BUT unlike spiders or any other threats, it is totally different with the knowledge of death.
In the very unique case of the empirical sighting and knowledge of death, whatever happened in the subconscious level re death is SUPPRESSED at the conscious level.
This is because if this fear is not suppressed, the person will be paralyzed with the conscious fear of death at all times, since death is a certainty.
In the case of the spider and other threats, it is possible for one to run away and avoid these potential threat of death.
But death is a certainty, and the threat of death trigger fears, therefore the fear of death as the subconscious level must be SUPPRESSED. If it leaks to the conscious mind, in the majority of cases, it is only temporary to ensure humans are not paralyzed by this conscious fear of death.

While the conscious fear of death is SUPPRESSED, the subconscious fear of death is still active at the subconscious levels of the mind.
This is because by the time the person is, say 5-10-15, they would have observed real death of humans [kins, friends, etc.] and their subconscious mind would have such a knowledge and thus react accordingly, which is very turbulent and tremendous.
While this is very active and desperate, humans are evolved with inhibitors that suppressed all these desperate reaction of the subconscious fear of death from reaching the conscious mind except intermittently.

As within psychology and psychiatry, the resultant of suppressed feelings and emotions result in all kinds of psychosis which are not easy to trace.
This desperate and terrible suppressed subconscious fear of death exudes [through leakages] a spectrum of indirect feelings of anxieties, despairs, loss of meaning, Angst, and the likes.
These terrible uneasy feeling happens to all humans beings and the majority turned to religions to soothe these existential pains and sufferings.
Because the theists as majority has resolved their existential pains, most would not be bothered to trace their belief in religion to their source, i.e. the subconscious fear of death.

The only religion [as far as I know] that [quite explicitly] trace the existential pains and sufferings to the subconscious fear of death is Buddhism.
This is after the Buddha noted all theistic religions were not able to fully resolve the existential pains while some has contributed to more sufferings.
Note the Buddha Story, the 4NT, the 8FP and other core principles.

All the other mainstream religions' focus in also on death and thus the subconscious fear of death.
Believers will give a range and spectrum of reasons why they are religious, but on deeper analysis, they are traceable to the subconscious fear of death.

Thus my above is why the subconscious fear of death is inherent within the subconscious mind and as a special case is suppressed from the conscious mind, except intermittently.

Thus my point;
The root cause of all religions is the subconscious fear of death.

Posted: **Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:40 am**

One interesting point from the above;

"This is because by the time the person is, say 5-10-15, they would have observed real death of humans [kins, friends, etc.] and their subconscious mind would have such a knowledge and thus react accordingly, which is very turbulent and tremendous."

I believe if a human being is not exposed to the concept of death at all, his subconscious fear would not be triggered with the subconscious fear of death. His subconscious will not have any data of possible death.
In this case, this person will not experience the indirect unease, anxieties, despairs, Angst indirectly from the subconscious fear of death.
Such a person will be genuinely indifferent to the fundamental purpose of religion and theism.

This is the basis behind the Buddha Story [myth] where the prince was prevented from the knowledge of illness, old age and death [corpse] so that his subconscious fear of death will not be triggered.

But nature is such the majority of human beings will not be able to escape the knowledge of inevitable mortality.
As such the subconscious fear of death will be activated in the majority of human beings and all human beings will suffer from the existential pains. The majority would have turned to religions and theism because it the easiest and most effective balm to soothe those existential pains.

I believe those who are mentally handicapped and unable to process the knowledge of death will not be triggered with the subconscious fear of death thus will be blissful to the threat. [ignorance is bliss].

But all human beings will have exposure to the certainty of mortality as soon as their self-consciousness are reasonably active, then, the subconscious fear of death will be activated but at the same time is naturally inhibited at the conscious mind level for good reasons except intermittently or in cases where the inhibitors are weakened.

When the subconscious fear to death is activated, various indirectly existential pains will be exuded via cracks and the majority will cling to religions as the most effective balm to soothe these pains.

Thus my point;
The root cause of all religions is the subconscious fear of death.

Posted: **Wed Nov 13, 2019 10:17 pm**

Fear is a conscious phenomenon.

Posted: **Thu Nov 14, 2019 5:09 am**

bahman wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 10:17 pm Fear is a conscious phenomenon.

You need to update your neural database on 'fear'.
Whatever fear that is felt consciously is merely a tip of an iceberg.
The majority of the fear mechanism is unconscious.

Researchers have found that fear is established unconsciously and that the amygdala is involved with fear conditioning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_proc ... _the_brain

There are tons of scientific research on the unconscious basis of the emotion of fear.

Posted: **Thu Nov 14, 2019 6:37 am**

Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:40 am Most are defensive when I proposed the root cause of religions is driven by the Subconscious Fear of Death.

You know this - how?
We are, in fact, conscious of our fears and fear of death is a perfectly normal and acknowledged part of life.
It was present long before any religions were invented. Before organized religion as we know it, there were many belief-systems, every one of which responded to death in some conscious, aware and meaningful way. When modern relihions were invented, every one of them incorporated some aspect of death/afterlife/rebirth into their doctrines.
There has never been anything subconscious about fear of death.
You're barking up the wrong tree.

Posted: **Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:53 am**

Skip wrote: ↑Thu Nov 14, 2019 6:37 am
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:40 am Most are defensive when I proposed the root cause of religions is driven by the Subconscious Fear of Death.
You know this - how?
We are, in fact, conscious of our fears and fear of death is a perfectly normal and acknowledged part of life.
It was present long before any religions were invented. Before organized religion as we know it, there were many belief-systems, every one of which responded to death in some conscious, aware and meaningful way. When modern relihions were invented, every one of them incorporated some aspect of death/afterlife/rebirth into their doctrines.
There has never been anything subconscious about fear of death.
You're barking up the wrong tree.

Mortality is a fact.

Socrates is a man,
all men are mortal, therefore
Socrates is mortal.

While all humans [not babies and toddlers] are knowledgeable of death is inevitable, they only have real reactions fears of death intermittently because all humans are programmed such that the conscious reactions to the fear of death is suppressed.
If all humans have real reactions to the fear of death [a certainty] they will be paralyzed with fear and will not be productive to produce the next generations.

You can confirm this yourself on a personal basis. While you are aware death is inevitable you are not 'frightened' or scared by it at all times as you would if you are facing a real potential threat of death with restricted escape.
Many posters here had stated they do not fear death consciously while having the knowledge of mortality.

Here is the argument.

P1. People has a serious mental issue [thanatophobia] if they fear death consciously.
P2. The majority 99% or more do not suffer from thanatophobia.
C3. Therefore the majority 99%+ do not fear death consciously

Those who consciously fear death constantly, i.e. suffering from thanatophobia will need to see a psychiatrist.

There has never been anything subconscious about fear of death.
You're barking up the wrong tree.

Researchers have found that fear is established unconsciously and that the amygdala is involved with fear conditioning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_proc ... _the_brain

As such the fear of death must be activated from the unconscious or subconscious, thus the existence of the subconscious fear of death.

Now, who is barking up the wrong tree.

Posted: **Thu Nov 14, 2019 7:32 pm**

I really upset my younger daughter and to a lessor extent my wife a few months ago. I mentioned that my father died in his sleep when he took a nap in the afternoon, and I sometimes think of that when I lay down in the afternoon to take a nap. My daughter got very upset and told me I should never think about that. I think death is something we all need to face sometime and a healthy attitude toward it is better than trying to deny it

Posted: **Fri Nov 15, 2019 2:49 am**

BardoXV wrote: ↑Thu Nov 14, 2019 7:32 pm I really upset my younger daughter and to a lessor extent my wife a few months ago. I mentioned that my father died in his sleep when he took a nap in the afternoon, and I sometimes think of that when I lay down in the afternoon to take a nap. My daughter got very upset and told me I should never think about that. I think death is something we all need to face sometime and a healthy attitude toward it is better than trying to deny it

Note I have raised several threads on the matter of death for a 'healthy' discussion of it consciously factually and rationally.

Factually, all humans are "programmed" such that the conscious fear of death is suppressed by inhibitors in various degrees.
Why your daughter do not want you think of it is the uncomfortable feeling that the inhibitors are loosen and the conscious fear of death is activated to a higher degree.
Perhaps her inhibitors are not that strong to have a greater suppression of the conscious fear of death, thus is triggered to feel uncomfortable on the subject of death.
I think it would be wiser to recognize her limitations than forcing the issue.

You may be fortunate to have stronger inhibitors to enable you to discuss and face death.
However it does take quite an effort to develop stronger inhibitors if one's existing inhibitors are not so strong.

The OP is about the subconscious fear of death, i.e. beyond the conscious mind.
The subconscious fear of death is activated upon the fact of death, but because it is suppressed at the conscious level, some degree of these impulses escape and manifest indirectly as general unease, discomfort, anxieties, Angst, etc. These are the negative effects that drive theists and the religious to seek theism and religions respectively to soothe these existential pains.

Posted: **Fri Nov 15, 2019 5:04 am**

Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:53 am
Mortality is a fact.

We know.

While all humans [not babies and toddlers] are knowledgeable of death is inevitable, they only have real reactions fears of death intermittently because all humans are programmed such that the conscious reactions to the fear of death is suppressed.

No. We're just too busy to worry all the time. If we were constantly thinking about our fears - not just of death, but of heights and spiders and tax audits and fire and losing our jobs and electrocution and impotence and losing your wallet and obesity and baldness and giving a speech and all the things we're afraid of, we couldn't do any living. If we were preoccupied with the bad stuff, we wouldn't have time to experience the good.
So we push the bad stuff (especially the bad things that are not imminent and/or readily influenced by our actions) into a less frequented compartment of our mind, we can get on with whatever we need and want to do. Humans have large enough brains to compartmentalize big categories of knowledge, memory and belief. That doesn't make it subconscious: we know exactly where it is and can take it out for contemplation at any time. Some cultures encourage more engagement with and social discourse about mortality, while others do not.
Modern western industrial society - especially in North America - cultivates a system of denial, while constantly feeding a morbid preoccupation with death in its popular entertainments and a desire for the power to kill in its arms market. Death is never more than a room away - but it's somebody else's death.

Here is the argument.

P1. People has a serious mental issue [thanatophobia] if they fear death consciously.
P2. The majority 99% or more do not suffer from thanatophobia.
C3. Therefore the majority 99%+ do not fear death consciously

Where do you get the statistics and the definitions? (I have an idea...)
To be clear, a rational fear of a real and present danger is not a phobia. It's only problematic if the subject is preoccupied with a death which is unlikely and neurotic when that preoccupation displaces normal thought and activity. Keeping one's fear of death submerged most of the time is, in fact, healthy.

Now, who is barking up the wrong tree.

I lied. There is no tree. I wonder what you're hoping to accomplish.

Posted: **Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:45 am**

Skip wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 5:04 am
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Thu Nov 14, 2019 8:53 am While all humans [not babies and toddlers] are knowledgeable of death is inevitable, they only have real reactions fears of death intermittently because all humans are programmed such that the conscious reactions to the fear of death is suppressed.
No. We're just too busy to worry all the time.
If we were constantly thinking about our fears - not just of death, but of heights and spiders and tax audits and fire and losing our jobs and electrocution and impotence and losing your wallet and obesity and baldness and giving a speech and all the things we're afraid of, we couldn't do any living. If we were preoccupied with the bad stuff, we wouldn't have time to experience the good.

You have missed the fundamentals.

Genetically, DNA-RNA wise ALL humans are "programmed" to live [till the inevitable].
To live one has to avoid death [cup half-empty = cup half full].
To avoid death all humans are programmed [subconsciously] to fear death and other instincts.

The subconscious fear of death is primary over all other instincts of fear.
The emotion of fear generate terrible psychological feelings which need to be relieved.

Thus to avoid the fear of death [a fact] from reaching the conscious mind on a constant basis, this conscious feeling of the fear of death is suppressed.

It is only because that the conscious fear of death is suppressed that humans are able to do other supposedly productive things and actions.

Before a human can be busy, the conscious fear of death must be suppressed. It is not the other way round because a person cannot be busy 24/7.

Note,
the fear of heights and spiders and tax audits and fire and losing our jobs and electrocution and xxxx and losing your wallet and obesity and xxxx and giving a speech and all [non-sexual related] the things we're afraid of, are reducible to the fear of death, so as to avoid death, so that the person can be productive to produce and take care of the next generation.

So we push the bad stuff (especially the bad things that are not imminent and/or readily influenced by our actions) into a less frequented compartment of our mind, we can get on with whatever we need and want to do. Humans have large enough brains to compartmentalize big categories of knowledge, memory and belief. That doesn't make it subconscious: we know exactly where it is and can take it out for contemplation at any time. Some cultures encourage more engagement with and social discourse about mortality, while others do not.
Modern western industrial society - especially in North America - cultivates a system of denial, while constantly feeding a morbid preoccupation with death in its popular entertainments and a desire for the power to kill in its arms market. Death is never more than a room away - but it's somebody else's death.

All human actions and thoughts are either subconscious and/or conscious.
The power of the subconscious mind is significantly more dominant than the conscious mind which is very obvious from one's personal experiences.

As stated, you and all know, mortality is a fact.
What the majority denial is the fact that the subconscious fear of death is the root cause of the all their non-sex related actions and thoughts.

What the market, politics, social and cultural parties exploit is to trigger and increase [in the majority of consumers] the activity of the subconscious fear of death and loosen the 'programmed' inhibitors that suppressed the conscious fear of death.
Why health [food, hospital, insurance, fitness] is so profitable is because the advertisers subliminally trigger the subconscious fear of death and conscious fear of death, so that these "fearful of death" [subliminally] will buy the products to avoid death, i.e. driven by a subliminal fear of death.

The fundamental of all non-sexual related actions and thoughts of all humans is reducible to the subconscious fear of death active at the subliminal levels.

Note the marketing strategy and a direct offer of Christianity re John 3:16;

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ...

The above triggers the subconscious fear of death and the promise of eternal life soothe this subconscious fear of death.

So my point;
Subconscious Fear of Death is the Root of Religions

Here is the argument.

P1. People has a serious mental issue [thanatophobia] if they fear death consciously.
P2. The majority 99% or more do not suffer from thanatophobia.
C3. Therefore the majority 99%+ do not fear death consciously
Where do you get the statistics and the definitions? (I have an idea...)
To be clear, a rational fear of a real and present danger is not a phobia. It's only problematic if the subject is preoccupied with a death which is unlikely and neurotic when that preoccupation displaces normal thought and activity. Keeping one's fear of death submerged most of the time is, in fact, healthy.

The % are not specific but in general to depict the relative sizes.
Definition of thanatophobia? see,
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321939.php

All humans are 'programmed' with inhibitors to suppress the conscious fear of death which thus objective and rational.
Any human who has a conscious fear of death is irrational, thus a phobia.

A normal person do not have to keep one's conscious fear of death submerged.
Nature and evolution has already done that for all human beings DNA-RNA wise.

What is worrisome is the turbulent subconscious fear of death within the unconscious mind that is bubbling with 'feelings of terror' that is not felt consciously but exude indirectly as existential pains, anxieties, despairs, meaninglessness, depression, Angst and the likes.

Fortunately there is an very easy and effective balm to soothe the above existential pains, and that is religions [theistic religions are more effective].

My point is;
-the majority of believers are ignorant of the point, why they are religious is because they are driven indirectly [subliminally] by the subconscious fear of death.

Posted: **Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:48 am**

Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:45 am
What is worrisome is the turbulent subconscious fear of death within the unconscious mind that is bubbling with 'feelings of terror' that is not felt consciously but exude indirectly as existential pains, anxieties, despairs, meaninglessness, depression, Angst and the likes.

Fortunately there is an very easy and effective balm to soothe the above existential pains, and that is religions [theistic religions are more effective].

The awareness that is aware it is aware is also able to transcend it's imaginary condition of beingness into non-beingness. The point is: if there is a mind where the idea of a you can exist then an opposite must also exist in the same mind.

Being or non-being is what eternal life means. There is no concept of the word ''eternal'' without knowing the concept ''finite''.
In other words, knowledge informs nothing is living or dying, there's just an ever forming streaming show of appearances, disapearances, and reappearances all occuring endlessly without any known beginning nor ending within the ONE SAME REALITY.

All else is just irrational fears brought about by irrational beliefs that those irrational fears are believed to be real, when they are not, for what can be real in that which doesn't exist except as an appearance that is known to disappear anyway?

Not many human minds ever reach this very subtle level of understanding reality, many do though, and many more are becoming aware thus losing their imagined grip over their false identity. The reason humans have these irrational beliefs and fears is because unlike other earthly animals, humans are identified with their thoughts as being their own creations, but once those thoughts are realised to be illusions including the thought that identifies with it's own beingness, then it is seen that the human is nothing more than any other animal or creature on this earth, it's nothing special apart from the fact it is aware it is aware, creating a false duality believed to be real.

The whole problem with identification, is that there appears to be a sense of self which is being artificially ''cut out'' of what is essentially one seamless reality. That irrational belief is born in conjunction with the believed sense of isolation which then lives in fear of that isolation. None of this has anything to do with the fear of death at all, because death is life and life is death in the same instant. The irrational sense of isolation is the cause of all human addictions which serve only to soothe away the pain of irrational separation.

Death ironically is your real home. It's this right here and now reality. For that which lives never dies, and that which dies never lives. Metaphorically speaking, not literally, Life comes from Death, and Death comes from Life, this is IT.

.

Posted: **Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:01 am**

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:48 am
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 7:45 am
What is worrisome is the turbulent subconscious fear of death within the unconscious mind that is bubbling with 'feelings of terror' that is not felt consciously but exude indirectly as existential pains, anxieties, despairs, meaninglessness, depression, Angst and the likes.

Fortunately there is an very easy and effective balm to soothe the above existential pains, and that is religions [theistic religions are more effective].
The awareness that is aware it is aware is also able to transcend it's imaginary condition of beingness into non-beingness. The point is: if there is a mind where the idea of a you can exist then an opposite must also exist in the same mind.

Being or non-being is what eternal life means. There is no concept of the word ''eternal'' without knowing the concept ''finite''.
In other words, knowledge informs nothing is living or dying, there's just an ever forming streaming show of appearances, disapearances, and reappearances all occuring endlessly without any known beginning nor ending within the ONE SAME REALITY.

All else is just irrational fears brought about by irrational beliefs that those irrational fears are believed to be real, when they are not, for what can be real in that which doesn't exist except as an appearance that is known to disappear anyway?

Not many human minds ever reach this very subtle level of understanding reality, many do though, and many more are becoming aware thus losing their imagined grip over their false identity. The reason humans have these irrational beliefs and fears is because unlike other earthly animals, humans are identified with their thoughts as being their own creations, but once those thoughts are realised to be illusions including the thought that identifies with it's own beingness, then it is seen that the human is nothing more than any other animal or creature on this earth, it's nothing special apart from the fact it is aware it is aware, creating a false duality believed to be real.
..

Note again,

What is worrisome is the turbulent subconscious fear of death within the unconscious mind that is bubbling with 'feelings of terror' that is not felt consciously but exude indirectly as existential pains, anxieties, despairs, meaninglessness, depression, Angst and the likes.

Fortunately, for the majority, there is an very easy and effective balm to soothe the above existential pains, and that is religions [theistic religions are more effective].

For you and the "no-self" fanatics [a very minority sect], you avoided theistic religions, which is a few grades higher, but you are still tormented by the subconscious fear of death to come up with crazy ideas like the below;

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Fri Nov 15, 2019 8:48 amThe whole problem with identification, is that there appears to be a sense of self which is being artificially ''cut out'' of what is essentially one seamless reality. That irrational belief is born in conjunction with the believed sense of isolation which then lives in fear of that isolation. None of this has anything to do with the fear of death at all, because death is life and life is death in the same instant. The irrational sense of isolation is the cause of all human addictions which serve only to soothe away the pain of irrational separation.

Death ironically is your real home. It's this right here and now reality. For that which lives never dies, and that which dies never lives. Metaphorically speaking, not literally, Life comes from Death, and Death comes from Life, this is IT.

You should consult a psychiatrist to deal with the above fanaticism and dogmatism.

Posted: **Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:05 pm**

Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:01 am Fortunately, for the majority, there is an very easy and effective balm to soothe the above existential pains, and that is religions [theistic religions are more effective].[/list]

For you and the "no-self" fanatics [a very minority sect], you avoided theistic religions, which is a few grades higher, but you are still tormented by the subconscious fear of death to come up with crazy ideas like the below;

It's interesting that you used the word "balm" as a means of comforting yourself against the possibility of death. All religions promise some form of afterlife, but which in this case would be a permanent solution to our fear of death. But you used "balm", which is a temporary solution to the fear of death we have while we're alive.

Also, accepting that multiple religions can exist simultaneously is inherently self-contradictory. Under no circumstance can Hinduism or Buddhism exist in a world where only the Christian God is truly real. Likewise, under no circumstances can the Christian God exist in a world where only the Hindu Gods are the real gods.

Viewed from your answer, religion is just a form of spiritual therapy. It doesn't really matter if you believe in the Force as it is defined in Star Wars, or conventional religions. What matters is that you believe in some form of higher power.

But there is an alternative to this: acceptance of death. This doesn't mean that you want to die, it just means that you are ready for it (as much as anyone can be ready to die).

And yet, this acceptance of death is terrifying to you. Why is that?

Posted: **Sun Nov 17, 2019 5:09 am**

Spyrith wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:05 pm
Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2019 4:01 am Fortunately, for the majority, there is an very easy and effective balm to soothe the above existential pains, and that is religions [theistic religions are more effective].[/list]

For you and the "no-self" fanatics [a very minority sect], you avoided theistic religions, which is a few grades higher, but you are still tormented by the subconscious fear of death to come up with crazy ideas like the below;
It's interesting that you used the word "balm" as a means of comforting yourself against the possibility of death. All religions promise some form of afterlife, but which in this case would be a permanent solution to our fear of death. But you used "balm", which is a temporary solution to the fear of death we have while we're alive.

Note it is a subconscious fear of death that morphed as untraceable anxieties, Angst, despair, meaningless life, depression, and the likes which drives theists to theistic religions.
Religion as "balm" because it is only a temporary solution against the permanent unavoidable subconscious fear of death and its painful manifestations.

Theistic religions is Only a PROMISE but have not yet delivered, thus cannot be a permanent solution until one actually has reached heaven with eternal life.

Also, accepting that multiple religions can exist simultaneously is inherently self-contradictory. Under no circumstance can Hinduism or Buddhism exist in a world where only the Christian God is truly real. Likewise, under no circumstances can the Christian God exist in a world where only the Hindu Gods are the real gods.

Not in all cases.
The Abrahamic religions believe their God is the same but sent different messengers or the last messenger. They may question the trinity but this is a matter in interpretation. It is true the Abrahamic will not accept the god[s] of other religions.
Hinduism acknowledges the God of others as the same but their form of practice is different.
Buddhism is fundamentally a theistic religion, so no concern here.

Viewed from your answer, religion is just a form of spiritual therapy. It doesn't really matter if you believe in the Force as it is defined in Star Wars, or conventional religions. What matters is that you believe in some form of higher power.

For most religion is a form of spiritual therapy, but the force for mainstream theistic religions has to be an ultimate God. Other theistic religions believe in lesser God.

Buddhism-proper is not exactly spiritual therapy, but rather it is a spiritual diagnostic tool with sophisticated principles and practices to deal with the mental pains exuding indirectly from the subconscious fear of death.
Buddhism's 4NT-8FP is a Life Problem Solving Technique.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=25193&p=377268&hil ... em#p377268

But there is an alternative to this: acceptance of death. This doesn't mean that you want to die, it just means that you are ready for it (as much as anyone can be ready to die).

And yet, this acceptance of death is terrifying to you. Why is that?

Where did I state the acceptance of death is terrifying to me?

Note I have explained;
DNA wise, all humans are "programmed" such that the conscious fear of death is SUPPRESSED most of the time except intermittently. Thus it is rational not have a conscious fear of death.
Therefore if a person is terrified of death, that is a sort of mental illness or a problem - this mental issue is identified as thanatophobia, an irrational fear of death consciously, which need to be cured.

There is no compulsion that one must accept death since the fear of death is suppressed at the conscious level, but one can rationalize upon that since mortality is a fact.

Posted: **Sun Nov 17, 2019 6:11 am**

Veritas Aequitas wrote: ↑Mon Nov 11, 2019 8:40 am Most are defensive when I proposed the root cause of religions is driven by the Subconscious Fear of Death.

Here is an explanation, how and why?

It is contended by many here, there is no subconscious fear of death.
Point here is, because it is subconscious, we cannot consciously knows the subconscious fear of death.
It is the same with many primal instincts and emotions, we are not conscious of them, but then scientists are able to infer the full mechanisms of these instincts and emotions that operate within the subconscious levels.

Take for example, the emotion of anger.
The emotion of anger operates at the subconscious and conscious levels.
Many of the responses of anger happened in the brain and body at the subconscious level without the person being conscious of it. This is why some murderers killed spontaneously in response to the subconscious levels trigger of the 'anger' emotion.
The person is aware of one's anger emotion consciously after feeling certain reactions of the body or seeing someone killed or other consequences that resulted from the anger responses.

The above mechanism of the emotion of fear is the same for that of anger.
The emotion of fear also operates at the subconscious and conscious levels. [A]
This principle is supported by tons of research on emotion and emotion of fear.
Thus when one sees a spider, the brain interprets the data of a spider and reacts accordingly initially as the subconscious level, then one is conscious one is has a fear of spider.

BUT, the fear of death is very unique from all other fears
To avoid death, it would be logical to fear death.
Re [A] this fear of death operates at the subconscious and conscious levels.
Thus when the person sees or learn of death empirically, there will be triggers at the subconscious levels initially as a the first response.

BUT unlike spiders or any other threats, it is totally different with the knowledge of death.
In the very unique case of the empirical sighting and knowledge of death, whatever happened in the subconscious level re death is SUPPRESSED at the conscious level.
This is because if this fear is not suppressed, the person will be paralyzed with the conscious fear of death at all times, since death is a certainty.
In the case of the spider and other threats, it is possible for one to run away and avoid these potential threat of death.
But death is a certainty, and the threat of death trigger fears, therefore the fear of death as the subconscious level must be SUPPRESSED. If it leaks to the conscious mind, in the majority of cases, it is only temporary to ensure humans are not paralyzed by this conscious fear of death.

While the conscious fear of death is SUPPRESSED, the subconscious fear of death is still active at the subconscious levels of the mind.
This is because by the time the person is, say 5-10-15, they would have observed real death of humans [kins, friends, etc.] and their subconscious mind would have such a knowledge and thus react accordingly, which is very turbulent and tremendous.
While this is very active and desperate, humans are evolved with inhibitors that suppressed all these desperate reaction of the subconscious fear of death from reaching the conscious mind except intermittently.

As within psychology and psychiatry, the resultant of suppressed feelings and emotions result in all kinds of psychosis which are not easy to trace.
This desperate and terrible suppressed subconscious fear of death exudes [through leakages] a spectrum of indirect feelings of anxieties, despairs, loss of meaning, Angst, and the likes.
These terrible uneasy feeling happens to all humans beings and the majority turned to religions to soothe these existential pains and sufferings.
Because the theists as majority has resolved their existential pains, most would not be bothered to trace their belief in religion to their source, i.e. the subconscious fear of death.

The only religion [as far as I know] that [quite explicitly] trace the existential pains and sufferings to the subconscious fear of death is Buddhism.
This is after the Buddha noted all theistic religions were not able to fully resolve the existential pains while some has contributed to more sufferings.
Note the Buddha Story, the 4NT, the 8FP and other core principles.

All the other mainstream religions' focus in also on death and thus the subconscious fear of death.
Believers will give a range and spectrum of reasons why they are religious, but on deeper analysis, they are traceable to the subconscious fear of death.

Thus my above is why the subconscious fear of death is inherent within the subconscious mind and as a special case is suppressed from the conscious mind, except intermittently.

Thus my point;
The root cause of all religions is the subconscious fear of death.

Really...then explain martyrs and contemplative who renounce the world (ie both seeking death in different ways).

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Subconscious Fear of Death - the Root of Religions

Subconscious Fear of Death - the Root of Religions

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Re: Subconscious Fear of Death - the Root of Religions

Re: Subconscious Fear of Death - the Root of Religions

Re: Subconscious Fear of Death - the Root of Religions