1. The general capability to secure personal happiness.

People need gods because they are missing a LACK OF FEAR OF MORTALITY.

an answer to the most difficult questions about our existence, whatever that answer may be.

an understanding of the mysteries of life

a brain

agree. Everyone wants some form of happiness. Some people belive they need belief in a higher power to achieve that happiness

even with god, there still mysteries to life.

People are missing peace in their life, so they go to God for that peace

I'm not sure if something is missing. If it's anything, it's the ability to think clearly and independently. As a child I went to Sunday school, but one day I just got tired of it and asked if I could stop going, and my mother said "Sure." So, I stopped going. This didn't prevent me from believing in god, but what it did do was, over time, allow me to realize how ridiculous religion can be.

Over the course of time that Humans have been on this planet, Earth, there have been COUNTLESS amounts of religions. Most of the time, a person is brought up in a religion against their will, unknowingly accepting it without having a chance to fight or feel the need to exercise their ability to choose on their own. Some people will profess that their child was given a choice of what they want to believe in as a kid, but this is very hard to determine. A child will naturally want to copy the actions of their role models. If the person they look up to goes to church every Sunday, or bows to Mecca five times a day, they will want to do that as well, even if they are asked if they don’t want to. Once that seed has been planted and starts to grow, it can be hard to stop. It's like an addiction, almost. Without knowing if there is a god, you get withdrawal and begin to undergo a mental change that can be painful and hard to let go of, or at least worrying to you, not to mention your loved ones who still probably believe in god and are unwilling to accept your belief. I can’t say that last sentence stands true for me because my family knows what I believe, and we’re all very open and have our own individual beliefs, just as any person should be able to.

For all practical reasons, I am agnostic. At this point in time it is impossible for us to determine whether god is real or not, regardless of what some people say (on both sides). It is impossible to prove or disprove with any amount of scientific/tangible accuracy the existence of god. The universe is a very mysterious and confusing place, but over the centuries us humans have been doing the best we can to unravel it. We get further everyday, but like a point on an expanding balloon, the end seems to drift away in all directions, no matter where you are on it.

Self reliance.

It's like having an imaginary friend noone will make fun of you for having, you can take all your problems and had them over to bob or god whichever you preferre, assume whatever happens is part of some divine plan set out for you by a creater.

also

It's so that we can put a face on that which we don't understand. I.E. death, a lot of people find it easier to deal with their death and the death of loved ones Via "heaven" a place where they all meet up and talk about the good times on earth.

Some people need this peace of mind, others don't.

A good education.

God represents the unknown, and things beyond our knowledge or control. Supernatural/mythical personifications are used to pass on knowledge and generally make the world a less intimidating place.

So it's not that we need gods, we need to understand and feel safe in this existence we know so little about. This doesn't necessarily have to come in the form of anthropomorphisms.

wow 3 words and yet so powerful. /agree

Death, pure and simple. We're all scared to die and anything that says we don't have to die or we can go to a wonderful place after we die we clinge to. We're all desperate men clinging to straws apart from the ones that have come to peace with dieing. If anyone has managed it please tell me. It terrifies me it really does.

People simply do not possess full understanding of the world around them; what better way to explain or cop out of learning than to say an almighty being did it? It's short, sweet, and stupid - just what people want.

Critical thinking skills. It is a natural and healthy part of our development to (in early stages) give complete trust (think worship) to our parents/authority figures. At some point we realize that our teachers are imperfect and have imperfect motivations behind what they strive to teach. After that milestone has been reached we are no longer content to be mere followers... We prefer negotiative relationships from then on and our new found dignity demands that we be both influential AND influenceable.