Religious moderation springs from the fact that even the least educated person among us simply knows more about certain matters than anyone did two thousand years ago... From "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris
Santa Maria chuch in Obidos, Portugal (2014-05-10)
Comment:Cognitive Dissonance
What accounts for religious moderation? That is, why are not all believers fundamentalist believers? If believers believe, why don't they, or can't then, believe fully in whatever doctrine they subscribe to? The answer is simple for most people born into a reasonably "modern" society. If not by virtue of formal education, then surely by simple observation or even osmosis, much of what is presented in religious texts is nonsensical. It just cannot be.
Therefore, much of what is written is rejected or at least viewed with a sceptical eye. Clearly, cognitive dissonance turns thinking people away from fundamentalism.
Cognitive Dissonance accounts for religious moderation..