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Will the major religions eventually die out?


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#51 ManhattanMaverick

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Posted 10 July 2012 - 10:45 AM

I don't believe so, there has been believers for hundreds of years. We pass our religions on to our children & raise them up in that fashion. Even though many turn away from it, some stay.

#52 HappyAccident

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Posted 10 July 2012 - 02:30 PM

"As long as there's one charlatan around to preach to one fool, you'll have a religion."



#53 wikkles

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Posted 11 July 2012 - 07:42 AM

"But when I look down the road, I am happy, because I see all religions taking their rightful place amongst the discredited mythology of ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece. And when Yahweh and Allah dine with Zeus it shall be a glorious day, indeed."


Fantastic quote from a random redditor...

If anyone is interested, here is the link to the whole thread: http://www.reddit.co...re_atheists_so/

#54 Mishelle

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Posted 11 July 2012 - 09:54 AM

Maybe in Canada. I can't see US being non-religious ever, or most 3rd world countries.

#55 Guest_Kate_*

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Posted 11 July 2012 - 10:27 AM

Why in Canada? lol
That's ridiculous. People are just as religious here as in the U.S.

#56 Mishelle

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Posted 11 July 2012 - 12:34 PM

Last I heard Atheism in Canada was between 20% and 30% and in the US it's around 9% to 15%. And they're a lot more secular than in the US where even though they say there's a separation of church and state, there isn't.

#57 Leaf

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Posted 18 July 2012 - 05:11 PM

I think its weird how people say they don't believe in anything or they are atheist or whatever and then as soon as something really really bad happens the first words out of their mouths are, "Oh God, Please no! Oh God please help me!" like... where the fuck does that come from.

#58 ElBastardoVerde

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Posted 18 July 2012 - 05:30 PM

When I say "Oh, god!" out of being scared crapless or something lame happens, I'm really saying "Wow, this is unbelievable".

#59 RandyX

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Posted 19 July 2012 - 07:30 AM

Eventually yes, it's a cycle of sorts.
Ancient religions have been forgotten before countless times.

#60 HannahElizabeth

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Posted 21 July 2012 - 03:28 PM

It may sound narrow minded, but I hope they do die out. As a compromise, I don't have any objection to the likes of Creationism being taught as some sort of Ancient Mythology class. But evolution, old earth, no invisible cloud men sciences should really be taking priority now.

In answer to Leaf, it's pure habit. The phrase is meaningless; just like most other knee-jerk exclamations.

Edited by HannahElizabeth, 21 July 2012 - 03:30 PM.


#61 ledawayadam

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Posted 21 July 2012 - 10:06 PM

All religions will eventually die out. (most likely very close to when the last person dies out, as people will always look to somewhere for hope in bad times.)

#62 Kaddict

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Posted 22 July 2012 - 11:24 PM

I agree with an earlier poster. At this point in time, the only way a major religion will die out would be due to very clear disproving of that religion. Though, it couldnt be a scientific disproving. It would have to be God manifesting himself and basically aligning himself with one religion. Other than that, christianity, islam etc will continue

#63 Yung

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Posted 29 July 2012 - 04:41 PM

An alternative to religions dying out would be to move on to logical thinking.

Scholars conclude that what we ordinarily call religion manifests to some degree eight different elements; belief system, community, central myths, rituals, an ethical system, emotional experiences, material expressions of religion, and sacredness. When examining how my own religious beliefs fall into this pattern I broke down each of the eight elements individually and applied my own beliefs into my interpretation of those eight elements.
When comparing my own beliefs on a belief system I've noticed that my beliefs are those of a skeptic. I am always questioning things and looking for logic in all aspects of life. I can understand how others appreciate and/or need religion in their lives but I also know and respect the fact that I need to question religion and question beliefs. When I compare my own beliefs to community I am taken aback by my modest views on how a community should function. I don't believe that just because someone prays, doesn't pray, prays to someone other than a Christian God, or has views that are different than anyone else in the community that they are in any way differentiated from the community. I believe that a community is a group of individuals with their own individual beliefs and views on life that have come together to work, live, and strive to improve together.
I would consider my own beliefs to be completely reflective to those of central myths, I believe that our descendants will come to the realization that the “big bang” must occur, calculate how large it must be, and calculate when exactly that event transpired and pass through time to the very beginning to start life initially. To me this is a logical and practical explanation of how life came to exist since the laws of the conservation of mass dictate that according to How Stuff Works (2009), “mass is equivalent to energy and the total mass before and after a given process is exactly the same only if the energy gained or lost in the process is taken into account;” and this leads me to believe that something physical and pre-existing must have given the initial spark necessary. This of course leads to dealing with solving the obvious paradox questions that would arise, I believe that we simply live in a cycle which would explain a great many phenomenon that otherwise goes unsolved. Ghosts could easily be explained as a slight lapse between cycles of life and re-life of the universe. Someone that existed in a past universe that didn't fall into line for the current cycle due to a minor miscalculation of the initial explosion of our creation. It would also explain the deja vu phenomenon that many people experience even when in a completely new environment setting.
I do not believe that my own beliefs reflect any particular rituals, I still celebrate holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas in a ritualistic manner. I do not however feel as though this manifests as a religious ritual based on my own beliefs instead I feel it is more culturally significant in my life. When contemplating my own ethical beliefs I feel as though ethical behavior extends beyond that as dictated within the confines of a religion. Instead I feel as though ethical decisions are based upon my own individual understanding and reasoning. By observing what is ethically acceptable; in my community, home, country, and civilization I have concluded that I am an ethically moral individual who bases ethics on an individual standing and not a religious influence.
In terms of emotional experiences I feel as though my beliefs allow me to cope with events from a logical stand point. By viewing myself narrowly escaping death I feel as though I was lucky and consider ways to prevent getting that close to death again however I can not deem that my emotional experiences have brought me any closer to my beliefs nor further from them. When I experience an emotional event I do my best as an individual to rationalize and contemplate how to better improve my life based on the experience.
Material expressions of religion and sacredness to me go hand in hand with each other. While though I don't have a religious icon that I hold in dire respect I do have things in my life that I feel are sacred. I wear an eagle around my neck that my grandfather gave me before he passed away. I feel as though the eagle is a representation of my ability to rise above the storms that arise in my life just as the eagle rises above storms rather than running and hiding. The eagle I wear is also the symbol of my family and designates me as head of my entire extended family. Due to this I feel a strong emotional connection to this object and it is as close to “wearing a cross” as I am likely to experience in my life time as I don't have an identifying religious icon.
Thus in conclusion to my own reflection of my religious beliefs it is easily discernible that I have some elements, such as sacredness, that carry much more weight than others, such as emotional experiences. I do not feel as though my own beliefs detract from my ability to observe and learn about other religions and beliefs that are drastically contrasting to my own. I understand clearly that emotional experiences for instance is an incredible motivating factor for many individuals to “grow closer to God(s),” however I don't feel as though that should influence my own religious beliefs even though I respectfully acknowledge that it influences theirs.

#64 idontknow951

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Posted 29 July 2012 - 05:01 PM

Logical thinking HAH. The education system is geared towards mindlessly memorizing facts to pass, it doesn't involve thinking in the slightest.

#65 Yung

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Posted 29 July 2012 - 05:25 PM

Logical thinking HAH. The education system is geared towards mindlessly memorizing facts to pass, it doesn't involve thinking in the slightest.


Unfortunately that is true. Logical thinking is a self-driven enterprise.

#66 wikkles

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Posted 29 July 2012 - 05:30 PM

Yung, did you write that or pull that from somewhere?

That was pretty insightful.

#67 Yung

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Posted 29 July 2012 - 05:30 PM

Yung, did you write that or pull that from somewhere?

That was pretty insightful.


I wrote it for my Comparative Religion class.

#68 DanDoesWork

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Posted 07 August 2012 - 07:21 PM

Can this debate ever end? I doubt it :D Nobody 100% can say they know what is out there after death. isn't it as simple as that? With all the modern science we have the how close we think we might be getting to that "God particle" we simply won't know what the true answer is. Our brains are such power things...we haven't for the most part even hit even 5% of out potential I think. Who knows maybe when we all die we go to our own little world :D

I will gladly shake Thors hand in mine

#69 Yung

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Posted 07 August 2012 - 07:26 PM

Posted Image

#70 DanDoesWork

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Posted 07 August 2012 - 07:40 PM

He is such a hunk <3 hahahahaha

#71 gummis

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Posted 10 August 2012 - 10:41 AM

All hail Odin! There could theoretically be one religion. My research of sci-fi movies and shows has proven to me that aliens, if they're religious only have one religion on their planet. No conflicts or opposing sides, most extreme I've seen is one religious group going to the dark side and using the powers their god/gods gave them to attack other people because they were tired of being pious.

#72 8143FF763271

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Posted 11 August 2012 - 09:57 PM

The functions of religion will die out so it is only logical that religions follow as they become more of a burden than an useful tool for society, as the world modernizes. However, one should note that there's, apparently, more than a structural need for the moral codes of religion. There's also an individual need for religion. Religion tends to provide a valuable therapeutic service to the people that form part of it, which is why we see educated modern men adopting religions like scientology or identifying with "new age" variants of spirituality. Even atheists often need to define themselves along the ethical lines of "secular humanist" or some other quasi-religious denomination to feel better about themselves.

Will religions die? They should, in my opinion, in the long run they become more baggage than help. However, the need to have it may go beyond social needs and may be something constitutional in human beings. My take on it is that modernity has given man a sort of existential crisis where he just can't accept the fact that his life has no meaning or purpose beyond himself. The way our reasoning mechanism functions is very teleological. We think of things in terms of purposes, of goals. We try, thus, to justify everything. An example is the common statement that animals evolve to survive instead of the more accurate statement that animals evolve because they survive. It gives us anxiety to know that there are things not serving a higher goal. It's why we often fanatically spouse things like nationalism, trends, religion, atheism, feminism- we love the sense of purpose we derive from martyrdom and sacrifice. As long as humans have the (in my opinion natural) need to assign a higher "meaning" to life, religions will exist much like they exist today. Mainstream religions adapt rather well to cultural changes so odds are that they'll stay, if diluted and diminished.

Edited by kami12, 11 August 2012 - 10:02 PM.


#73 Sweeney

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Posted 12 August 2012 - 07:18 AM

Animals don't evolve ;)

#74 Guest_Kate_*

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Posted 13 August 2012 - 07:51 AM

Last I heard Atheism in Canada was between 20% and 30% and in the US it's around 9% to 15%. And they're a lot more secular than in the US where even though they say there's a separation of church and state, there isn't.


Eh I am inclined to disagree with you. My hometown has a population of less then 1000 and for some reason they feel the need to have 6 churches.
SIX. It's like this all over Canada, although the percentage of Atheists may be SLIGHTLY higher than in the U.S. it's not enough to make a difference. It's not enough to say someday Canada will no longer be religious. If that were the case, the U.S's religions would be near extinct as well by your logic. Based on the percentage of Atheists. Since it's only a minor difference. They'd both likely die out. Not just Canada.

#75 Mishelle

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Posted 13 August 2012 - 09:45 AM

Small populations tend to be more religious than big cities across the board. The only reason I can't see religion leaving the US is because religion is so deeply ingrained into our political system. In countries where they focus on being secular I think it would be a lot easier for them to leave religion behind.


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