Despite what the various religious texts teach, there is no evidence that any of these teachings have any basis in fact. For all we know, it could all have been made-up just like we know that Zeus, Thor, Santa Claus, etc are all made-up. Will there eventually come a time when people slowly realize that their dieties and scriptures are nothing more than products of the imagination and works of literature? In much of the developed world, religion's role has dimished. Europe is now one of the most secular places on Earth. This trend is likely to continue throughout the entire world. So I wonder at what point in history will religion eventually be abandoned by human-kind as a whole?
Probably not, religion provides for so many needs of human psychology; hope in the face of injustice and certain mortality, a focal point of tribalism and the need to be a part of a group, moral direction, a chance for forgivness to allay guilt etc etc. Our need is so great that we allow for irrationality, well, not me but a lot of people.
Well some of the greatest people in history have been religious or at least believed in God. Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., Albert Schweitzer, Albert Einstein, Malcolm X, Renee Descartes etc. I don't see it as a handicap to them, but as a core of strength. I don't see mankind giving it up.
Paging DaDakota!!!! I don't think people will ever give up religion, because it is too ingrained in world culture. The popularity of religion will ebb and flow, but it will always be there for the people to believe in or choose not to.
At the end. Matthew 24- 3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" 4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
I've never been able to read and understand Shakespere or biblical passages could you just paraphrase that Rhester?
I have nothing against a person being spiritual. That being said, I think organized religion is probably the worst thing to ever happen to humanity.
I don't know if they will ever give up relegion, but my hope is that it evolves into a friendlier - non controlling - type of religion. Currently most religions are based upon fear, and are in the business of making money, and retaining power. I would recommend the movie "Luther" to get a context of what religion seems to be about. I think true enlightenment is found inside yourself, and not in some dusty ancient text of mythology. DD
Religion is staying. Most people need religion as a moral compass and a path to deal with guilt. In addition, as people get older they start to believe. Perhaps it's a way for them to deal with the life they led or to come to grips with the oncoming uncertainty of the afterlife.
Perhaps, but evidence and facts show that (as one of the most revered American politicians so eloquently put it) "all the known superstitions and religions of the world are all alike founded on fables and mythology". At this point in history, the proportion of rational, sceptical, freethinking people has grown to the highest point in all of history. While there will always be myth-believing people, I think that their numbers will slowly dwindle (as it does already) but it may be several centuries more before all of religion is relegated into the shelves of the "myth and fable" section. But it will eventually happen. Consider that many beliefs that used to be considered religions such as Greek religion, Norse religion, Egyptian religion, etc etc are now no longer considered religions but are now firmly in the shelf of "myth and fable". Someday, perhaps, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, etc may also end up on that shelf just as many previous religions have done so.
That's as unlikely as the day suffering and the uncertainty of life is eliminated. I wouldn't think that day would be a blessing either. Spirituality and meaning is ingrained in the essense of being human. Call it genetic or whatever. Even the people who were turned off by organized religion had to have questioned their spirituality as a basis for their backlash. Abuses in religion is symptomatic to the human condition. Without religion, those who seek to abuse power would find other social hierarchies to exploit. Humanity would not be better off without religion. In fact, religious institutions over human history have strived to protect culture, history, and science of past civilizations against the ravages of war and occupation. Without their efforts, the secular and "enlightned" governments we take for granted would not exist.
I think the advancement of science, despite any political forces, is inevitable. For me, religion and science are completely unrelated, but the real truth, as evidenced by the endless and painful ID threads, is that religion is not compatible with a lot of things for a lot of people.... which, by the way, has been happening forever. Fundamentalist beliefs in organized religions are bound to be contradicted as human knowledge grows. It is a fact that if one religion is correct, then all religions cannot be true. As humans understand the universe around them better, will it systematically eliminate various religions that aren't compatible with accepted knowledge? Most likely. People used to believe in mythology. That was dismissed a long time ago as human knowledge grew. Will the ID/Evolution debate eventually determine the future of Christianity? DEFINITELY NO. Christianity and Evolution are not contradictory to a lot of people, and have not been for a long time. Religion as a whole will be around for a VERY long time, no matter what happens. It has survived a long time already and it constantly changes and adapts to current social, scientific, economic, and political conditions. Fundamentalist beliefs may come and go, but religion is here to stay.
its arrogance is rooted in the fact that it is coming from someone in a developed country with the affluence and ability to read, study and develop their own opinion without the fright of continually worrying about their survival from day to day. If you look at the evolution of literature from the dark ages to now, it would somewhat suppourt your theory. Somewhat. The thing is, there will always be people who will want, love and cherish religion. There will always be those in society that are so impoverished and challenged by the enviornment that they need something to worship. (let me state that the above two statements mean different things. Whereas I myself do not care for religion, I see nothing wrong with those that do. It was not meant as a jab or insult.) Moreover, as we learn more about string theory and quantum physics, it seems to point towards the existence of god. So restated, would you question whether society will lean towards no longer believing in god?, or would you just question the need for pre-determined religions?
