Adherence to faith doesn't always feel good.
In fact, sometimes it outright sucks.
Especially when you are tempted to do something that most definitely would feel good and you don't because of that very adherence to moral doctrine (don't commit adultery, don't kill, etc).
My point is that religion is something at least some people do not because it feels good because they know deep down it is good regardless of how it feels, much like eating healthy food or exercising.
That happens with law all the time too though. It can feel bad to want to hit someone and realize there are consequences, but most of the time you recognize the good in that the law should be preventing randoms from doing the same to you or your children.
The comfort of community and belief in God and the afterlife etc. outweighs the bad overall. Impulsivity will lead to clashing with all kinds of things that mostly feel good, whether it's religion, law, romance, whatever. Just because it doesn't always feel good doesn't mean it doesn't feel good overall. I bet that's true for being gay, which was what this example was originally about.
I'll disagree.
Adherence to faith doesn't always feel good. In fact, sometimes it outright sucks. Especially when you are tempted to do something that most definitely would feel good and you don't because of that very adherence to moral doctrine (don't commit adultery, don't kill, etc).
My point is that religion is something at least some people do not because it feels good because they know deep down it is good regardless of how it feels, much like eating healthy food or exercising.
That happens with law all the time too though. It can feel bad to want to hit someone and realize there are consequences, but most of the time you recognize the good in that the law should be preventing randoms from doing the same to you or your children.
The comfort of community and belief in God and the afterlife etc. outweighs the bad overall. Impulsivity will lead to clashing with all kinds of things that mostly feel good, whether it's religion, law, romance, whatever. Just because it doesn't always feel good doesn't mean it doesn't feel good overall. I bet that's true for being gay, which was what this example was originally about.