Finally, there is an “official” FAQ about this profound question. It is at http://www.400monkeys.com/God/.
I would like to add the following questions to the FAQ, because the question “why do people believe in God?” is even more important than the question “Is there a God?”.
- Why do people need a religious belief?
- What is the cause for difference between people, who have greater need for religious belief, and people, who have less need for religious belief?
- What are the psychological factors, which cause a person to prefer a particular religious belief (or lack of any religious belief)?
- What causes some politicians to adopt a particular religion as a state religion, whose commandments and prohibitions must be enforced over the population in a particular territory?
- Under what circumstances would people tend to respect each other’s religious preferences, and when would they tend to force their beliefs into their fellows’ throats?
Notice that the subject is multidisciplinary even if we remove theology: it involves psychology, politics and sociology.