Why do so many people believe they don't need salvation?

Education and intellect - pure and simple!

The only way primitive religion exists today is through the child abuse of forcing it into very, very young children but thanks to better education and growing intellects so many teens are able to discover the truth, throw off the indoctrination and step into the real world!

Acceptance of a supernatural claim tends to promote cooperative social relationships. This communication demonstrates a willingness to accept, without skepticism, the influence of the speaker in a way similar to a child's acceptance of the influence of a parent. By encouraging this kind of behavior where the most intense social relationships occur it facilitates the lack of skepticism and deters more open minded thinking.

They are christian, Muslim or the other religions depending where they were born simply because they were indoctrinated by their parents as very young children. They will go on to indoctrinate their own children and those will go on to indoctrinate their grandchildren!

Atheists have the intellect to see through the conditioning and escape into the real world!

Agnostics have the intellect to see through the conditioning but lack the courage to throw of the conditioning entirely.

Sadly Christians, muslims and others are still held firmly prisoner by the self perpetuating brainwashing!

Humans have looked to get magical assistance with life since they evolved creativity enough to imagine gods. They burnt offerings to bring the animals spirits for a good hunt, to stop torrential rain, to prevent disease...by the Bronze Age, there were polytheistic religions and cults devoted to particular gods within a mythology which later became monotheistic religions.

The reason people have been religious for so long, is that we didn't know why. In the last two hundred years, we've seen more growth in human knowledge than in a hundred thousand years previously. Humans no longer need religion to ward off an eclipse, a drought, an earthquake...

In short, because you can't point to it.

You already said it's a matter of faith. Many people do not employ faith, because all that does is gives anyone an excuse (not a reason) to believe anything. It's a great way to adhere to something that can't be demonstrated or an idea that makes you feel good.

You made the mistake of calling your faith fact. While what you believe makes that belief factual in that you have it, it doesn't make that belief true. Because if we want to play that little game I'll just go on and start expressing faith in an endless list of things you think are nonsense.

Because I genuinely don't care for it!

I believe that in this lifetime, I have a few goals: be a good, compassionate, caring person, be successful in my career, find love and keep working at it, treat people as I want to be treated, etc.

I don't care what happens afterwards. Why should I? I find it WORSE that people treat others a certain way because they want salvation versus doing it out of the kindness of their own hearts. I'm so sick and tired of hearing stuff like "I forgive you because Jesus would want me to". How about you forgive someone because it's the right thing to do?

Sure there could be a god or an afterlife, but life's too short worrying about that to suck up to some unseen being, and to act a certain way to suck up to get to the pearly gates. No thanks.

The concept of salvation has been imposed upon gullible, ignorant people to make them more easily controlled with threats of hellfire etc.

Because it's one of a number of concepts invented by primitive man to control people.

That's pure speculation though, the thought that there is nothing after death is actually based on evidence. Evidence of absence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_of_absence

May Allah forgive you for pushing your evil faith on less evil people.

Because they choose to.