I must say, I'm curious as to the psychological reason why humans believe in gods. I mean, the description of gods vary from region to region. But I'm curious to know why most humans believed in the concept of a god.
relieves them from the responsibility to understand and better the world they live in - just assign all the f-ed up things happening around you to a super being, convince yourself that the world is the way it should be and there us nothing you can, or even should, do to change it and you are happier camper - no different than that opium munching fella next-door.
At the same time, eternal life and the concept of paradise - an integral part of the Abrahamic religions, not coincidentally the most popular ones around - give you assurances that the shit of life you may be living now is just temporary and there is a lot better awaiting you in the afterlife, be it in the form of 72 virgins or otherwise. Religion provides you with a more convenient, a better-sounding interpretation of an otherwise grim reality and people, naturally, tend to believe what they want and need to believe. Of course, all this comfort comes at a price - one's blind and unquestionable faith in something that no facts or common sense support or explain.
Also, keep in mind that these religions started out in times that were very hard for the common man - human life 2000 years ago wasn't worth more than a steaming pile of crap, even less so than it is now - so religion was the perfect outlet for pain, suffering and frustration and a reason to live on, as I tried to explain above.
How it made it thru the centuries - people's natural propensity towards tradition and believing in things for the mere reason that those before them believed in them too ... that path already taken by our ancestors, is the path most often taken by us, as it's the safest, and we teach the same to our children, as well. People, for the most part, are afraid of the risks and dangers of the unknown and keep to what they already know. Pioneers are a rarity, which is probably why they have a separate word for it
Luckily for all of us, be it believers or agnostics or atheists, the key phrase in the other sentence is "for the most part"
