(no subject)
I haven't done enough research to speak about this intelligently, but I'm going to speak about it intuitively anyway.
As a note, I am not trying to deny alternate explanations in any way. Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and ideas, these are just mine and I feel like writing them down. I definitely don't think I know the answers, but I have my guesses.
We want to understand. We want to have answers for everything. Even those who don't want to study or attend school. It's the hard-wiring of the human mind that promotes our survival. Cats look for prey, bacteria look for light and we look for answers. Answers being the beginnings and ends of logical cause and effect. If we see something, we want to know what it is, where it came from, and why.
Some things, like our existence and the existence of the universe we live in, are very difficult to explain. The number of factors leading to their existence is so vast that we cannot truly trace, in a direct way, their origins. Several people have created pretty solid theories as to how the physical universe came into being, but it requires a huge leap of 'faith' to believe those theories when you don't understand the math behind them (even then they seem to rely on some pretty vague assumptions). As I said, I am writing intuitively and I don't understand these theories fully myself. I do, however, generally feel like there are a lot of people in the scientific community who do believe them (very smart people), and I therefore have faith that they are decent explanations. I'd love to understand them more fully, but I barely have time to randomly babble as it is ;)
I would akin my belief in this concept of the universe to faith in a god or religion in some ways. Mainly in the fact that I don't truly understand the underlying details, but have come to have faith in the overall idea. There are scientists out there who have come much closer to understanding all of the details of the idea and have dedicated their lives to it... they are the priests of this faith of course. They believe adamantly in the word of science and it's underlying assumptions. They tend to have a particularly strong faith in their beliefs because the nature of science is to rely on 'proved' and 'observable' facts. I believe in the ideas because their obsession with the details and the process of understanding these details is something I see as heartfelt and true. I think the pursuit of understanding and knowledge is one of the few human virtues that seems pretty consistent in the human race, and the scientific method and process inherently creates a system of checks and balances that require people to verify that knowledge in a consistent manner.
The trick with science is that it still relies on assumptions. It still assumes that our perceptions are accurate. It assumes that we actually exist physically. It assumes that there is no manipulative force at work... only the 'natural forces' that have been observed and experimentally determined. I believe, from a practical standpoint, that these assumptions are accurate. I believe this because I have no reason not to believe it. I don't, however, think that makes it true. It's just my best guess.
Many people, when they look for an understanding as to the reasons and nature of our existence and the existence of the universe, don't see science as an adequate explanation. The universe and they themselves appear too complex to be 'accidental'. They need an explanation that can encompass the 'perfectness' of the results. When I say that, I mean that they see our existence as making sense... things just work. The chances that humans could have come about by accident are infinitesimal. Answers that are based on infinitesimal possibilities seem unfounded. The answer that a God brought these things into existence becomes more plausible because it simultaneously explains the logical nature of the universe and humans, and explains why something so seemingly unlikely could have happened (one of the biggest difficulties is really that we don't comprehend the vastness of the opportunities for these things... us to be specific, to have happened)..
ANYONE who was independently pondering the nature of the universe would be likely to arrive at the idea that someONE was responsible for the existence of the world around us. They might not settle on that idea, but if a person really contemplates the question, it is one of the options that comes to mind. We as humans create things... it's one of our other driving characteristics and spawns directly out of the need for answers. We want to do something, we don't have a way, we look for an answer to the problem of doing that thing... and create a tool. Because we constantly create, we will automatically look at all things as potentially having a 'creator'. People always ask why all societies have developed a belief in a god. It seems unavoidable to me if you are really open to the options.
I think fewer people would choose to believe in a 'god' if they had a distinct and clearly provable explanation of the reasons and process for the creation of the universe and the human race. It seems to me that generally people's need for a god is to explain that. I realize that people often feel that god is also a source of morality and clarity in life direction, but I think that is generally a position that god holds as the originator of everything. Who would be more qualified in that case?
In many ways, I feel that belief in a scientifically understood universe takes more faith than a spiritually founded creation based universe because it doesn't involve hypothesizing an answer. In a spiritual universe, you assume the primary answer and that explains all of the detailed questions (well - the primary answer to "why, what, when, how?" is god, and then anything from god is the answer... enter holy documents to explain the details). In science, you don't have a primary answer. You have pieces of a puzzle and you are searching for the primary answer. It's much more difficult to have faith in the unknown. People want security and assurance... want to understand. Science doesn't give you that when it comes to the full picture. I personally don't believe not having an answer is a reason to invent one, but I certainly understand the desire to have an answer. My only conclusion is that religion is an easy way out, but it answers your questions and gives you a set of guidelines and a direction. Science is cold and unresponsive, only giving you what it can 'prove' and leaving the core answers unsatisfied and those who pursue it un-sated... but it does it's best to be objective and open to possibilities (when properly executed).
I personally would rather be openly questioning than to force my theory on the universe, but I understand the desire for answers. I think the reality is that we will probably never really understand 'why' or 'how' fully... there is just too much to know and no way to know it. In the face of that kind of ambiguity, it is perfectly reasonable that people decide to create their own answers. I still question why people take the 'religion' of others as their own, but I think choosing to believe something in the face of the vacuum of meaning is as good a choice as choosing to look for or wait for an answer. I just think it's important to choose something that makes your life and the world around you better. It would only seem to make sense to choose beliefs because they are intelligent and healthy - not because someone says they are 'true' or 'right'... no one in the world is qualified to say what is 'true' or 'right'. Not scientists, not priests, not imams and not me (or you). Everyone has their belief, for whatever reason, but that doesn't make it true for anyone else. Every person in existence has just as much innate knowledge and right to make that decision.
In the end, I personally just think 'god' is an answer to a question. The question is intrinsic to all of us and therefore god is an option to all of us. Ultimately I think the question is actually the meaning of life and the motivator for the human race. It is our god. It is what gives us hope, fear, compulsion and faith. It is what gives us life.
Of course, this is like running through a forest looking only at the tree in front of you. It may be the biggest tree, but all the ones around you are interesting. All of this deals with the more celebrated side of humans - our somewhat unique and defining 'higher' conscious thought. There are also the more 'base' physical and psychological motivators... but that is a different discussion, and one that gods tend to consider best avoided ;)