49 replies to this topic

[DanDoesWork]

I had a conversation with my brother last night and we got a little heated about this subject. The question is will religions like Christianity, Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam slowly start to die out in the future? My brother brought up this study they did on kids of this generation, and found that more kid's have a lack of knowledge about religion then before. My brother also mentioned that many many religions have died out in our time here on earth so why is any of the major religions out there immune from it.

Its in our nature to find out the truth I think and the whole science vs. religion dual will be forever there until something huge happens lol But also i figure that anytime someone goes through some kind of hardship, and suffering that will be the reason why religion won't really die out. Maybe I'm wrong with this whole topic but let's see if I made any sense As always if you cannot handle a discussion with strong opinions stay out of them. This is not meant to hurt anybodies feelings so with that said gooo

[Nubge]

Religion it's dead for my generation for example, it's pretty rare to find some one who actually believe in something at my age. I'm 15 if that helps.


In my country childs get into the Christianity or Catholicism, but after the 12 years old they live religion, because they find it boring or stupid.. I think :3

[DanDoesWork]

Well stupid or not most people don't know what they want at your age lol The brain doesn't fully develop really until your 25 or so. So given that just have fun!

[Waser Lave]

All of the other religions which have existed before the current crop have died out. A big difference between those and the current lot is that globalisation has allowed religions to spread further with much higher numbers of followers. That means that whereas past religions have died out due to the collapse of entire civilisations which were limited spatially, it would take a mass extinction event to wipe out one of the current main religions (along with most of the human race). That only leaves the option of religions either being outgrown or disproved which I don't think will happen any time soon (unfortunately).

[Nubge]

DanDoesWork, on 29 November 2011 - 02:27 PM, said:

Well stupid or not most people don't know what they want at your age lol The brain doesn't fully develop really until your 25 or so. So given that just have fun!

We dont need to be focus on religion the most part of our day, hahaha
But actually I'm from Catholicism, but I'm not a Catholicism obsessed, I just believe in a god

[Rainie]

DanDoesWork, on 29 November 2011 - 02:17 PM, said:

...found that more kid's have a lack of knowledge about religion then before...

I can kind of agree with that I guess, my family is all Buddhist except my siblings and I barely know about Buddhism
/I could argue that it's because my parents never told us anything about it/we never asked, but that doesn't change how we have a "lack of knowledge" on it cx/

Idunno about the major religions dying out though since they have a large amount of followers /since as you said, they're major religions cx/ and /most/ families who believe in Christianity/etc. will probably pass on their beliefs to their offspring, etc. o:
It could gradually decrease, but I don't think they'll ever lose all of their followers /for a while at least/

[Therion]

This is simple logic, if something cannot continue forever it will stop. We (people) probably have a comparatively short lifespan ahead of us, which will also eliminate our religions.

That said, it may not even last that long, beliefs and cultural rituals have changed fairly radically over the last 200 years. I dare say organised religion at least, is dying out slowly as it is. We as people are going to keep multiplying at an ever increasing rate, major religions like Christianity are big, but I would wager that they'll never be able to keep up.

[Hydrogen]

No. Even if so, another would take its place. Atheism is still a religion. It is impossble, then, by definition, to have no religion on earth.

[Waser Lave]

Hydrogen, on 29 November 2011 - 03:18 PM, said:

No. Even if so, another would take its place. Atheism is still a religion. It is impossble, then, by definition, to have no religion on earth.

What if there was no humans? (Which, incidentally, has been the case for most of the earth's lifespan )

[Hydrogen]

Waser Lave, on 29 November 2011 - 03:21 PM, said:

What if there was no humans? (Which, incidentally, has been the case for most of the earth's lifespan )

Silly englishman, everyone knows the humans are here to stay.

[Waser Lave]

Hydrogen, on 29 November 2011 - 03:53 PM, said:

Silly englishman, everyone knows the humans are here to stay.

Just you wait until the pandas get their act together...

[nyquil]

Panda take over sounds like fun, much better then apes.

I feel like they are slowly dying but i dont think they will ever be completely gone. there will always be religion. It gives people the safety net that they need when all else is going wrong and they need some form of comfort.

[Hydrogen]

Waser Lave, on 29 November 2011 - 03:54 PM, said:

Just you wait until the pandas get their act together...

Probably the penguin takeover will happen before the pandas organize in any meaningful way. I mean, congregating completely in Antartica with no contact into the civilized world? Does no one else see they are brooding?!

[Waser Lave]

Hydrogen, on 29 November 2011 - 04:09 PM, said:

Probably the penguin takeover will happen before the pandas organize in any meaningful way. I mean, congregating completely in Antartica with no contact into the civilized world? Does no one else see they are brooding?!

Penguins are too stupid though. Case in point, the penguin which found its way to New Zealand and nearly killed itself because it was eating sand mistaking it for snow...

http://articles.cnn....ird?_s=PM:WORLD

Unless, of course, penguins have found a way to unleash the energy potential of sand and created a weapon of mass destruction out of that process...

[frostz]

Waser Lave, on 29 November 2011 - 02:30 PM, said:

All of the other religions which have existed before the current crop have died out. A big difference between those and the current lot is that globalisation has allowed religions to spread further with much higher numbers of followers. That means that whereas past religions have died out due to the collapse of entire civilisations which were limited spatially, it would take a mass extinction event to wipe out one of the current main religions (along with most of the human race). That only leaves the option of religions either being outgrown or disproved which I don't think will happen any time soon (unfortunately).

its not just that. Since Judaism the progenitor of christianity, catholicism, islam etc. is as old if not older than those other religions you might be referencing (greek, nordic, religions etc). Yet has not died out. I mean obviously Rome didn't collapse before people stopped worshiping the Greek gods, yet at some point in time they obviously paid homage to them.

christianity and such are some of the only religions in which the original group of people it was meant for decided to spread their religion outside of their own communities.
today globalization only helps to speed up the process.

Judaism has been around for a long time and so has Christianity and Islam. I expect that they will be around for a while, since today these religions kind of hold a monopoly due to most people not taking new age religions seriously.

[Charli]

I don't think they will. They've been around for a couple thousand years so I don't really think its a fad. And younger people are less interested than adults but I think thats normal, I dont think it means religion is going to go away. Usually a religion will change to attract more followers if it has to, rather than die out.

[Frizzle]

Religion has been at it's strongest for years in the East. I very doubt it will die out any time soon

[jargon]

Although the younger "entitled" generation seems to lack interest in religion, I don't think it's that easy for people to let go of the idea that there is something more than decay after death.

Can you guys remember the time in your childhood when you first came across the idea of death or the idea that one day you'll cease to exist? Isn't it weird that most people can't really pinpoint it? It must've been a momentous discovery yet, at least for me, I can't remember when it first came to my attention. I think the closer we get to death, the more willingly we lean on faith to keep us from going insane with fear.

[Sida]

Waser Lave, on 29 November 2011 - 03:54 PM, said:

Just you wait until the pandas get their act together...

Yeah, you know we're going to make a stand.

Hydrogen, on 29 November 2011 - 03:18 PM, said:

No. Even if so, another would take its place. Atheism is still a religion. It is impossble, then, by definition, to have no religion on earth.

I don't consider it a religion myself.

[Amagius]

Sida, on 12 December 2011 - 03:38 AM, said:

I don't consider it a religion myself.

Agreed. We can be dogmatic, but without some faith-based element (besides the inherent problem of science), atheism is inherently disjointed. One need not be a cosmologist to be an atheist; it rests on the only valid proof one can find: disproof.

frostz, on 05 December 2011 - 01:11 AM, said:

its not just that. Since Judaism the progenitor of christianity, catholicism, islam etc. is as old if not older than those other religions you might be referencing (greek, nordic, religions etc). Yet has not died out. I mean obviously Rome didn't collapse before people stopped worshiping the Greek gods, yet at some point in time they obviously paid homage to them.

christianity and such are some of the only religions in which the original group of people it was meant for decided to spread their religion outside of their own communities.
today globalization only helps to speed up the process.

Judaism has been around for a long time and so has Christianity and Islam. I expect that they will be around for a while, since today these religions kind of hold a monopoly due to most people not taking new age religions seriously.

You are Christian, no? I agree with your point (that the world religions will not disappear soon), but it comes from a very Judeo-Christian perspective. Many religions existed and died before Judaism, not to mention Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Egyptian and Babylonian mysticism and polytheism, and plenty of pantheistic beliefs. Additionally, not to shatter a bubble, but Judaism was very much a polytheistic religion, influenced greatly by Zoroaster.

Anyway: the world religions will continue because they are core to many cultures and culture at large.

It isn't about faith and is only in that roundabout way about death. It's a common language for our relations to the infinite and each other. It's a shared perspective for viewing and understanding the world, which is not only easier but often more enjoyable than our atheistic, nihilistic, Sartre-drenched dialogue.

[frostz]

Amagius, on 12 December 2011 - 08:51 AM, said:

You are Christian, no? I agree with your point (that the world religions will not disappear soon), but it comes from a very Judeo-Christian perspective. Many religions existed and died before Judaism, not to mention Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Egyptian and Babylonian mysticism and polytheism, and plenty of pantheistic beliefs. Additionally, not to shatter a bubble, but Judaism was very much a polytheistic religion, influenced greatly by Zoroaster.

Anyway: the world religions will continue because they are core to many cultures and culture at large.

It isn't about faith and is only in that roundabout way about death. It's a common language for our relations to the infinite and each other. It's a shared perspective for viewing and understanding the world, which is not only easier but often more enjoyable than our atheistic, nihilistic, Sartre-drenched dialogue.

Well i was pointing out that religions do not necessarily die out with the collapse of the civilization they are associated with, and can even disappear before said collapse happens.

The religions you pointed out above were very centered around the individual cultures that came up with them, and most of them did not make a huge attempt to impose their religions on others.

Christianity and the like as a religion have had people actively spreading it to others outside of the original group it was meant for and as such it won't be disappearing any time soon.

Also as a side note i am pretty sure Hinduism still exists.

I know that Judaism was a polytheistic and based on some older religion. In one of the threads i created in the debate section i discussed how "God" in the old testament is actually named El Elyon and was an adaptation of, or borrowed directly from the head god of the Canaanite pantheon. And that in Exodus where god is now referred to as Lord (Jehovah) is an entirely different god altogether.

Edited by frostz, 13 December 2011 - 01:01 PM.

[contour]

Even if the people may not believe in all aspects of the religion itself / believe in it at all, it is a good method for people to network and keep in touch. They will feel like they belong to a community with friendly people. There are many people who go to churches to meet up with the local community, even though they may be indifferent on whether god exists or not.

Religion will keep on continuing. And since religion isn't really based on facts. Once a 'better' religion comes along for the individual, it doesn't necessarily replace the old one.

What i hope for people in the future is that we take the positive aspects of all religions and decide for ourselves if we want to integrate them into our lifestyle/personality. Spirituality > Religion.

Edited by contour, 13 December 2011 - 11:11 PM.

[redlion]

I'm going to tell this story, because it directly applies. If it doesn't seem so at first, continue reading.

Freshman year I lived in the dormitories, and like almost all freshman, I ate on campus almost every day(required to buy meal plans). One day I was walking back from the meal hall around eight or nine o'clock, and right in front of my dorm, a group of students were gathered in a circle around something spread over the ground. I walked over and asked someone I knew what was going on. She replied that, to her knowledge, it was some sort of survey or personality test. As we finished talking, a small group walked away from the circle and their departure opened a view of twenty or thirty 9x13 photos spread on the ground. I approached the leader, who asked if I'd take his survey. I agreed, and he asked me to pick three photos.

First he asked me to pick a photo that symbolized love. I duly picked one, and when he asked why I told him.

Then he asked me to pick a photo that symbolized happiness. Again, I picked a photo and explained my choice.

Last, he asked me to pick a photo that symbolized god. I looked at the photos again, more closely, and picked a photo of a planetary system, with a star and gas giant visible. When he asked me why, I told him that I thought God and all religions were manifestations of the human condition, that we were simply trying to make the world fit our understanding instead of the other way around. I told him I thought humanity would outgrow religion as we outgrew our planet. By the time we're living on other planets, I reasoned, surely we would be far too engrossed in logical science to bother with superstitious religion.

He sat and pondered for a few seconds, nodding his head. Then he looked up and strait into my eyes. I'd like to give you my card, he said, and pulled out a business card, hand writing his number on the back. I'd like to talk to you again about what you just said. I said sure, if I had the time. They packed up their photographs and went on about their way. As I was walking into my dorm, another friend just walking up approached and asked why I was talking to the Campus Crusaders for Christ. Her ID filled in a lot of holes for me.

[silentqueen]

Will the major religions eventually die out?

I have no clue, let me go pray for an answer...

[Stitches]

Hydrogen, on 29 November 2011 - 03:18 PM, said:

Atheism is still a religion.

No. No it isn't.

Agnosticism could be, because it's basically 'undecided'. Atheism is a lack of belief in any supernatural 'force' like a god, and any of the beliefs associated with that supernatural force - life after death, predestination, heaven/hell, etc. Because I believe science doesn't make it my "religion" - science relies on what can be empirically observed. We can observe the cosmos and evolution, we can test scientific theories. If a theory is disproved, it changes and adapts. One of the major purposes of science is to disprove (and thus advance) current knowledge. You cannot observe or test a god - it relies on faith alone.

A lot of religious people will call atheists devil worshipers or whatever, but that doesn't even make sense, because atheists don't believe there is a satan or devil in the first place. You could say some aspects of atheism have similarities to religions, in that there are prominent atheist figures like Richard Dawkins and atheists sometimes come together to form groups, but there is no dogma, faith or ritual associated with that. Religion - any religion - and atheism are polar opposites.