Future of Religion?

[Jon Miller]

What do you think it's future is?

I am a religionist. I thnk that either Christ will come, or we will see a radical reconstructuring of Christianity in the next 100 years.

I am less informed about Islam/Hinduism/Buddhism.

JM

[Jon Miller]

BTW, by radical restructuring I mean that religion will have to deal with us not being forced to stay on just this planet anymore, or with some sort of machine-mind interface, or with some sort of collapse.

JM
(or possibly a non-earth related intelligence)

[Elok]

Re: Future of Religion?

Originally posted by Jon Miller
What do you think it's future is?

It's future is better then that of English grammar. Their, I said it.

I think people will continue being religious the same as always, in similar proportions. The growing popularity of atheism is more or less negated by the fact that religious people outbreed them.

How technology will affect it? Probably surprisingly little, at least for my religion. Technology's hardly made a dent in us yet AFAICT. If we do develop AI or mind-meshing or what have you there may well be new ethical questions.

[Jon Miller]

I do expect us to have an AI or mind machine interface/etc in the next 100 years. I could be wrong, I do agree that currently technology hasn't been that big a deal as far as religion goes.

I don't actually think taht atheism is growing in popularity. Among scientists, the % of atheists is similar to what it was 100 years ago, and I would expect them to be at the forefront.

JM

[rah]

There will always be a need for certain people to try to explain what science can not. These people are usually the most stubborn people since they feel they have to know they're right about everything. By being able to just use God to explain what they don't know, they never have to challange any of their beliefs.

If we ever really can prove what happens after life, then religion won't be near as necessary. Unless it proves there is a God, of course.

[Riesstiu IV]

Scientology since it promotes the sciences.

[Jon Miller]

Modern religions like Christianity don't have as their core focus explaining how the universe works. While it does give a reason for being (which isn't something that Science even attempts to do), it isn't about why lightning exists/etc.

It is true that some still use it that way, but that is the old style religions. Christianity is about redemption and at some level why the universe exists.

Science is about how things work. It hopes to explain how the universe exists, but will never attempt to show why logic exists or anything of that nature.

JM

[rah]

I say BS.
Religion is about hope. Hope for what happens when you die. Hope when you don't have enough to eat. Hope when you have no one else. Hope that you can appear to be more pious than your neighbor. Hope that you can use God as an excuse to kill and steal from your neighbor.

[Jon Miller]

That is progressive religion BS. It is because they focus on the hope that religion is true, rather than really beleiving in religion and going from there.

It's a very one dimensional and ignorant view of religion.

JM

[Robert]

Originally posted by rah
I say BS.
Religion is about hope. Hope for what happens when you die. Hope when you don't have enough to eat. Hope when you have no one else. Hope that you can appear to be more pious than your neighbor. Hope that you can use God as an excuse to kill and steal from your neighbor.

That's not the core of christianity, eventhough many christians make that to be the core of christianity.

[Nikolai]

I knew it wouldn't go long before this ended up as a Christianity discussion.

[Combat Ingrid]

Originally posted by rah
I say BS.
Religion is about hope. Hope for what happens when you die. Hope when you don't have enough to eat. Hope when you have no one else. Hope that you can appear to be more pious than your neighbor. Hope that you can use God as an excuse to kill and steal from your neighbor.

[Aeson]

I think someday after the apocalypse, an old hard drive will be found... the last remnants of our modern society. It will be shiney still, and thus worshipped as a god. Kept safe in their holiest of holies. Scientists will study it for millenia, and eventually the technology required to operate the hard drive will have been renewed.

All humankind (or rather the mutated offspring thereof) will throng together to witness the first reading of the sacred hard drive. On it most of the data will have deteriorated, but they will be able to piece together a great many files still. What they will find will be a bunch of porn and a few of Wiglaf's posts in a browser cache.

This will of course disappoint them greatly as the mutations will have created such a race of misfits that even Wiglaf and porn will seem mundane. They will throw away the hard drive, and without their "God" to cower to, a great divide will form between them based on the number of appendages and orifices they were born with. Then there will be a great war, and they will destroy themselves with their technologically advanced weapons with only some mutated few surviving... to begin it all again.

[Ben Kenobi]

Canticle for Liebowitz anyone?

That's been done before.

Christianity hasn't changed all that much since 1908, so I'm skeptical that there will be big changes in 2108. I think it's more likely that we will see a revival in the west, as has happened previously.

[gwillybj]

re: Future of Religion?

RELIGION (American Heritage Dictionary)
NOUN:
1. a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

Speaking on parts 1 (a and b) and 3, I don't see the definition changing much.
Speaking on parts 2 and 4, I see the ongoing ebb and flow of organizations, large and small.
As it has been, so it will be.