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The question

If faith in God is innate, then why does the Amazonian Pirahã tribe not possess basic beliefs in a Creator, which some atheists use as proof that religious beliefs are not innate?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

Humans are inherently predisposed to acknowledge that they have a Creator and a Lord. This innate disposition, or fitra, cannot be diverted from except by those whom devils have led astray. The existence of those who deny God does not mean that they were not created with an innate knowledge of Him, but rather that they have deviated from their fitra.

Even if the fitra is obscured, it manifests itself in times of hardship; there are no atheists in foxholes.

Those who deviate from this fitra are a tiny minority, and many of them outwardly deny the existence of God while inwardly acknowledging it, just as God mentioned concerning Pharaoh.

The notion that belief in God is innate is affirmed by contemporary philosophers.

The tribe mentioned does not deny the Creator; rather, they do not know a specific religion. There is a difference between not knowing God's names and attributes and denying His existence.

The questioner is advised to seek knowledge and avoid doubts.

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Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
637
Imported
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