If there was a religion that was demonstrably false but, on balance, provided benefits to those who believed in it, it would generate a dilemma. Should you make yourself believe a lie and deny your faculties of reason if there is a guaranteed reward in the end?
Fortunately, this dilemma doesn’t exist in real life. There is no evidence that religion provides benefits that outweigh its moral costs. There are religious individuals and communities that thrive, but this needs to be weighed against the suffering their religion causes.
A book review posted on Astral Codex Ten goes to great lengths to demonstrate the obvious: The foundations of the Mormon religion are based on falsehoods. And yet.
If a belief system is epistemically broken but instrumentally winning, which version of rationality wins?
The Mormon missionaries I’ve spoken to don’t find this question threatening, they find it obvious. They look at a secular world drowning in anomie and atomization, look back at their own thriving, high-trust communities, and conclude that the proof is in the pudding.
This ignores Mormonism’s repressive and brutal history. It’s not clear if on balance, Mormonism has been a force for good for its members. This invalidates the author’s conclusion:
Mormonism is a bit too obviously incorrect for my taste though. Maybe there’s some other pro-social, faith-increasing collective brainwashing ritual we can all participate in together that will make the world a better place.
Nehaveigur 