This speech was presented inThe Public Debate Club In discussing the existence of God
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By Yael, psychologist and lecturer

In my opinion, the question of whether God exists should be asked, if at all, between a person and himself. I would like to argue that holding a discussion on the issue in public and holding debates about it is an action with no benefit at all, which sometimes also causes real harm. And this is for three reasons: firstly because there is no convincing evidence for either side, secondly because of the cognitive dissonance, and thirdly because of conflicts that arise.

Because there is no evidence

Factually, the debate whether God exists or not has been going on for several thousand years, and factually all the changes in the number of believers have been marginal. This means that what convinces people is neither the argument nor the logic, because then all the people would have moved to one side a long time ago. Therefore, in my opinion, the debate is simply a waste of time. and useless.

The cognitive dissonance argument

As a psychologist I can say that there is a very strong reason why people do not change their minds about the existence of God, and it is called cognitive dissonance. Basically, each of us strives for our beliefs and our actions to be consistent with each other, and when they are not we feel discomfort that science calls cognitive dissonance. Psychology shows that people will go to great lengths and sometimes even harm themselves to avoid this suffering.

How does this relate to belief in God - in that people feel real suffering when they encounter an argument that violates their value system. This causes them self-doubts that go beyond the question of who created the world in the direction of 'what is the meaning of my life'. Therefore this discussion makes people feel bad about themselves and has no positive value to serve.

the conflicts that arise

When people who disagree argue about the existence of God, the argument often slips into personal lines and causes conflicts and fights. I can provide my own counterexample with a relative who converted and now lives in Bnei Brak. The way we managed to maintain a good relationship with her and a close family bond is that both we and she strictly avoid discussing these kinds of theological questions with her.

Does it harm our intellectual integrity? It's possible. But it definitely improves the quality of life.