'Religious People aren't Reasonable?'

Quite a few folks really believe this:

"Rational arguments don't usually work on religious people. Otherwise, there wouldn't be religious people."
- Doris Egan

Unhappily, quite a few "religious people" seem determined to prove that Doris Egan is right. I've been over that before:

• "It's Faith and Reason"
  (June 19, 2010)

Faith is not opposed to reason. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 35) But being a Catholic does not guarantee that a person will be reasonable.

With more than 1,000,000,000 of us alive at the moment, I'd be astonished if some of us weren't the sort of "religious people" Doris Egan had in mind. The Catholic Church, though, has no problem with reason. There's more about that under "Background," at the end of this post.

Why are so many folks convinced that religious beliefs can't be reasonable? I think part of the problem is confusing religion with emotion.

Religion as an Emotional High?

Emotions, by themselves, aren't good or bad. But we're supposed to govern our passions with reason. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1767)

The Catholic Church's approach to reason and emotion doesn't fit notions about religion being all about 'spiritual uplift,' 'feeling saved,' or 'being high on Jesus.'

Then there are things like the dark night of the soul, dying to self, and the way our brains are wired: but I'm trying to cut down on how many topics I put in one post.

Related posts:

• "Mephistopheles, Cosmology, and Doctor Faustus"
  (November 7, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Marlowe, Mephistopheles and a Cozy Little Universe
  • 'Bible Astronomy' and Getting a Grip
  • Science, Religion, and All That
• "Becoming Catholic for Reasons, Leaving Because of Feelings"
  (August 5, 2010)
• "It's Faith and Reason"
  (June 19, 2010)
• "Reason, Faith and 'What Folks Know,
  that Just Ain't So' "
  (June 4, 2010)
• "Emotions, the Frontal Cortex, the War on Terror, Anarchists, and the Illuminati"
  Another War-on-Terror Blog (December 23, 2008)
  Particularly
  • Emotion Trumping Reason: Not Limited to the War on Terror
    

Sort-of-related posts:

• Ideas - good, bad, and daft
  • "Sex, Science, and the Home Schooling Parent"
    (September 17, 2011)
  • "Apocalypse Whenever"
    (June 14, 2011)
  • "Haiti: Voodoo, Pat Robertson, and the Catholic Church"
    (January 16, 2010)
  • "Global Warming, End Times - 'We're All Gonna Die' Over the Last 45 Years Or So"
    (October 3, 2009)
  • "Cultural Chaos, Divisiveness, and CNN"
    (April 1, 2010)
    
• Freedom, fear, and fantasy
  • "My Take on the News: Religion, Politics, and Freedom"
    (October 28, 2011)
  • "The Establishment Clause; Religious Freedom; and Getting a Grip"
    (October 5, 2011)
  • "First Amendment Suspended for 9/11 Memorial Service: Wrong, but Understandable"
    (September 10, 2011)
  • "Circumcision, San Francisco, and Getting a Grip"
    (May 27, 2011)
  • "Freedom of Religion, or Freedom From Religion?"
    (June 1, 2009)

Background:

• Reason
  • Isn't opposed to faith
    (Catechism, 35)
  • Is a critical part of
    • Conscience
      (Catechism, 1778)
    • Human law
      (Catechism, 1902)
    • Natural law
      (Catechism, 1954-1960)
  • As intellect, an attribute of God
    (Catechism, 271)
  • An ability which makes human beings like God
    (Catechism, 1730)
• Emotions
  • Are "natural components of the human psyche"(Catechism, 1764)
    • Aren't "good" or "bad" by themselves
      (Catechism, 1762-1770)
  • Should be governed by reason
    (Catechism, 1767)