If children are free to believe in what they want, is it okay for them to believe in God, or that dark forces behind the government run the world, or that dogs will ultimately become the dominant life form on the planet and therefore should be acknowledged as such, just as examples. Or should children be channeled into a set of norms that someone, somewhere, approves of?

It is a lack of coherent thought, although often highly compartmentalized via special pleading. Sure most people can reason deductively but they have more motivation to do so when it suits them, than when it doesn't. People usually don't want to reason clearly about their mortality because they're afraid of it. They'd rather borrow an ideology that tells them superficially comforting lies.

Most don't think...raised to give up thinking...just have faith, do away with reason. Just have faith.....don't question, just have faith....believe in god, just have faith.. when that has been pounded in for years and years and you're made to believe that damnation everlasting is the punishment for not believing and having faith....then many just have faith.

There have always been con men some better than others to prey on the fears of humans from day one it seems. I would like to see religion removed from the earth and watch the progress that would occur. We now have an over populated world with religion wanting more children so they have more followers.It appears religion is not through bringing ignorance and wrath to the world.

I think childhood indoctrination has the major part in the belief in the afterlife.
Second reason to me is, ignorant (or even adamant) wishful thinking. A yearning for there to be said afterlife....

I think that for some people not knowing or admiring they dont' know all the answers is just too scary for them.

Because it gives structure to what can seem a non-sensical existence. Whether there is or isn’t is irrelevant. Belief creates a form and function to live by. Do you believe that you love or is it a convenient tribal bonding strategy?

I think people who put all their eggs in the religion basket do so because 1) they are passive and don’t want to hold themselves responsible for the choices that put them in a situation (“It’s god’s will&rdquo, 2) it’s easier to “pray” for someone and forget about it than to actually help someone (“ I will say a prayer for you&rdquo, and 3) it’s easier to believe that someone will pay for their “sins” by going to hell than to just accept that shit happens to all of us.

I love a quote of Carl Sagan’s:

The universe is neither hostile nor friendly, but simply indifferent.

That is more than most people can swallow.

Look for a second at the big picture. Christians, who do hold that all three are real, may seem to dominate in the western world especially the US today, but though they are the largest single group they are not the majority world wide. Many among them do not believe in all three, many more people here in the UK and Europe see themselves as post Christian, early Jewish thinking did not include heaven and hell, they do not have meaning for Buddhist, Hindu or many early religions, perhaps the vast majority of people never held all three to be true. Human thinking is very flexible and changes all the time. There is hope yet.