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Originally Posted by Thom Yorke
I can't see religion ever really fading. Sure, a greater percetage of the population will probably become athiest, but I still think it will lay a vital role in many peoples lives. Science doesn't nullify religion.
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I think that last point is certainly debatable. If by religion you mean the creed that dogmas espouse, I think people will find it increasingly difficult to believe in in a dogma when part of its creed is exposed as a blatant falsehood. For example, carbon dating has shown us that the Earth is older than the Bible claims it to be. Certainly this revelation has made it more difficult for at least
some people to believe in parts of, or all of, the Bible. In other words, science has made it more difficult to believe in Christianity. And in that sense, I think it can be argued that science has negated religion. But that is only a comically small example.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jack Pat
I think religions involving faith and belief without reason will dwindle in numbers in the centuries to come. "Religions" such as Taoism, Buddhism, and Vedanta Hinduism may last a bit longer than those like Christianity and Islam. The reason for this being that they require more logic (although, to a lesser extent for Vedanta Hinduism). I'll admit, though, I have limited knowledge on the subject of Vedanta Hinduism.
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I think I agree with what you're getting at. Religions with stronger community ties that rely more on codes of living rather than supernatural creeds will probably outlast their more loosely bound counterparts. And I think this circles back around to my original point about there being an evolutionary benefit to religion; societies that are closely bound by a common supernatural creed and the practices that accommodate this creed are probably more likely to survive as a society and pass on their creed.