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Does Religion Encourage an Intuitive Mindset?

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Epiphany

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Religion is a broad subject, but many of them share some common elements, such as a belief in objective morality, a spiritual realm, the immortality of consciousness and eternal consequences.

This thread is not about the truth, or lack thereof, of any religion so please keep it on track and don't derail it into another religion vs atheism discussion.

I'm curious if a religious upbringing encourages a more intuitive perspective of life, rather than sensing. Especially for the religiously devout, nearly every decision one makes has a broader implication that is filtered through a value system that emphasizes the importance of eternity over the fleeting, corporeal existence of our senses. Seemingly inconsequential matters like what to eat or wear become issues of epic proportions, resulting in damnation or salvation, in the minds of believers. To the overly zealous, functioning in society and tending to one's physical needs becomes problematic on the quest to acquire a spiritual reward at the expense of carnal pleasures.

Are intuitives more drawn to religion/spirituality in pursuit of a deeper meaning to life? Do sensors find it more challenging to focus on religious philosophy that seeks to answer questions which exist outside of the day-to-day happenings of this present reality?
 
G

Ginkgo

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People are drawn to religion for different reasons, but I think that spirituality is more intuitive/emotional than religion. When I say spirituality, I mean a faith in a higher reality, direct contact with the divine, etc. Religion incorporates spirituality, usually, but includes a number of other aspects that seem to be more "sensing", "thinking", or "feeling" based. Religion is so broad...

Jung thought that ancient man was much more guided by intuition, so man would develop very abstract "fill in the blanks" ideas, often rooted in spirituality.
 

Orangey

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Do sensors find it more challenging to focus on religious philosophy that seeks to answer questions which exist outside of the day-to-day happenings of this present reality?

Yes, I find it difficult to think beyond my animal senses. My fellow sensors and I are much closer to beasts than the average intuitive. You're much more likely to find me sniffing someone's ass or humping someone's leg than considering the broad implications of my actions through the lens of ideology.
 
G

Ginkgo

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Yes, I find it difficult to think beyond my animal senses. My fellow sensors and I are much closer to beasts than the average intuitive. You're much more likely to find me sniffing someone's ass or humping someone's leg than considering the broad implications of my actions through the lens of ideology.

:rofl1:
 

Qlip

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I'm not sure how this applies, but the topic reminds me of my INTx friend who is a very strange breed of Seventh Day Adventist. He has told me in the past that he felt inadequate because his wife claimed to hear God telling her what to do, but no matter what he tried, he could never hear God.
 

Lark

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I'm not sure how this applies, but the topic reminds me of my INTx friend who is a very strange breed of Seventh Day Adventist. He has told me in the past that he felt inadequate because his wife claimed to hear God telling her what to do, but no matter what he tried, he could never hear God.

That's a lot more widespread than simply that congregation, I know that the RCC has even had authors and priests spread the word that that is uncommon for a reason, exceptional rather than the norm because of converts or more literally minded individuals becoming possessed by feelings of inadequacy, then doubt, then abandoning faith altogether.

There's political equivalents too, like the free market capitalist who cant run a successful small business, the hippy who feels dropping out has really only resulted in lost time.
 

Lark

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I'm unsure there's a sensor-intuitive divide, some religious traditions would appear to be very sensor friendly, for instance, using the popular 'carnality/sacrifice/forfeit' motif the OP does, tantric and the karma sutra each appear to channel carnality.

Without specific,reference to 'carnality' the mystics of even immediate pleasure abjuring or rejecting traditions seem more like sensors than intuitives.

There are some dichotomies implied the OP which may be false.
 

INTP

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No, it offers answer to intuitions "god did it", which kinda hinders the intuition to work properly
 
A

A window to the soul

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My intuition is a finely tuned God glorifying machine. I like it. :D
 

CrystalViolet

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I'd say no. Judging by the god botherers that live by a very strict set of rules and inflict them on everybody else.
If you are wired that way, then you will automatically adjust your thought patterns to suit though.

Mind you I don't think the sensor/intuitive dichotomy translates into religious beliefs. Some of the deepest religious thinkers I've met personally have a preference for sensing functions.
 
A

A window to the soul

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I'd say no. Judging by the god botherers that live by a very strict set of rules and inflict them on everybody else.
If you are wired that way, then you will automatically adjust your thought patterns to suit though.

Mind you I don't think the sensor/intuitive dichotomy translates into religious beliefs. Some of the deepest religious thinkers I've met personally have a preference for sensing functions.

Rules are for fools, and the self-righteous. I do not follow rules.
 

Munchies

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"does religion promote an intuitive mindset" Let's re-arrange that. Does swallowing in whole information, not examining it for flaws, and regurgitating it promote an analizing mind? No, no it doesn't. Unless we are talking about hinduism or budism, if that can be called religion
 
A

A window to the soul

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Weird. What are The Ten Commandments? Ardent suggestions?
Not again. :fpalm:

Obsolete Old Testament Law that people try to follow because they misinterpret the Bible (or don't read it at all), and miss the part where it talks about how the blood of Jesus fulfilled the Law when he was crucified.
 

EcK

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The few reliable studies available seem to positively correlate IQ to N traits. Religiousness is negatively correlated to IQ. While correlation is not causation it doesn't seem to point out to any strong link between intuitiveness and religiousness. Religious leaders can be Ns, but the following of their precepts doesn't require or encourage abstract thought as the allegories religion is based on tend to show a lack of coherence. I would expect that someone used to think in terms of abstraction would be more likely to be bothered by this and find it more difficult to end up an active religious follower.
 
A

A window to the soul

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The few reliable studies available seem to positively correlate IQ to N traits. Religiousness is negatively correlated to IQ. While correlation is not causation it doesn't seem to point out to any strong link between intuitiveness and religiousness. Religious leaders can be Ns, but the following of their precepts doesn't require or encourage abstract thought as the allegories religion is based on tend to show a lack of coherence. I would expect that someone used to think in terms of abstraction would be more likely to be bothered by this and find it more difficult to end up an active religious follower.

So sensors and religious folk have lower IQ's? What about black folk vs. white folk? Gays vs. straights?

My IQ just went down a few points after reading your post. It's not logical. :dont:
 

EcK

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As Ns are a minority in the population it's only natural to expect successful religions to adapt their structure, message and transmission of it to fit the majority of the population (SJ, SP).
Such religions would spread to the next generation and attain critical mass in a given population faster. Assuming people generally have only one religion at once and people stick to it for years and often lifetimes religious belief should be considered as a limited resource. A process of natural selection would ensue, the more SJ\SP religions would spread more quickly and take over the available pool of believers, killing off religions more tailored for Ns.
 

EcK

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So sensors and religious folk have lower IQ's? What about black folk vs white folk? Gays vs. straights?

My IQ just went down a few points after reading your post. :dont:
I would expect any intelligent adult to understand that I was talking about statistics. Anecdotal data is just that. Also IQ scores tend to be stable throughout one's life and I wouldn't expect a major IQ lowering stroke to be causally related with your reading of this post.

It's adorable that you would use that tactic to attack my argument though. You could even have added orphans btw. And yes, lack of physical contact(oxytocin) and no adults regularly talking to an infant seem to have a negative impact on the development of a healthy adult brain but that would only concern kids abandoned at birth.
 
A

A window to the soul

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I would expect any intelligent adult to understand that I was talking about statistics. Anecdotal data is just that. Also IQ scores tend to be stable throughout one's life and I wouldn't expect a major IQ lowering stroke to be causally related with your reading of this post.

Oh, you have stats. Where might those be? I didn't see a link.
 
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