Will religion die out?

Post Reply New Topic

Do you think religion will die out?

I think the first alien race we encounter will shake things up quite a bit.

But, it may not ever fully die out..... there are still people who believe the earth is flat.

Unless we're really fortunate, no.

"God is Dead" - Friedrich Nietzsche

I have a feeling over the next few thousand years it will evolve into something different that answers the actual needs of humanity rather then attempting to force different types of morality on them. So perhaps it will transform into a philosophical movement with religious symbols of no actual meaning other then a sense of nostalgia. I can't imagine it completely disappearing, there are still people, thousands of years later, who worship old polytheistic gods.

I don't think it will ever entirely die out but l do think eventually the more civilized countries will be without it.

not really. religion is like a person's blue screen of death. it's a means of them reacting to something they can't grasp or comprehend. a safety blanket of sorts...and those never go out of style.

I wish............

I fear religion will never die out. Contact with an alien race may not improve things either - especially if they try to convert everyone on Earth to their religion wherein a three eyed, ten tentacled, green alien gave its life a few thousand years earlier in the name of religion.

Quagmolug the ten tentacled son of God gave his life that others may live. Amen.

You must kneel and pray in the direction of the Orion nebula 7 times a day and cross yourself with six of your seven tentacles

... and no playing with your seventh tentacle or you will go blind.

What Nietzsche didn't know was if God went to Heaven or Hell after He died. Most likely Hell considering the mess He left behind.

I'm more concerned that religion is a humanity-exclusive issue. Imagine if Aliens came here and the religious folks tried to take control of negotiations with them, offended them and resulted in them leaving, never to return, or worse, wiping us out or enslaving us?
Speaking of religion and aliens, anybody who has read Orson Scott Card probably shares my frustration.

Sadly, no. Humans seem to have a natural need to be apart of something significantly greater than themselves, and it does not seem to matter if that something is a religion that worships a sky-fairy, a fanbase that worships a sports team or athlete, an organisation that worships political ideals, a philosophy that worships reason, or a clique that worships itself.

As long as people come together for a common cause, there will be religion; that is, the socio-political expression of irrational belief in an improvable concept or idea.

I went for "yes". Though I don't believe it will completely, it'll definitely be among a vast minority in due time. Doubt it'll have any significance in the West by 2030, which is a nice thing to look forward to.

When we have a better understanding of the brain we may find what it is that makes otherwise intelligent, empiricist people to be so foolish. Even then there will be those that deny their brains are leading them astray.

I very much doubt it is limited to humans. I would hazard an intuitive guess that any species anywhere in the universe that starts to develop intelligence will invent a god character. It is a way of making "sense" of various natural events from thunder and lightning to natural disasters. An intelligent creature gets used to the idea that there is a cause for all things. Cause and effect - the basis of intelligence. Where they cannot understand the cause of something they just attach the "god did it" idea.

A god must be very powerful too to cause things like floods and famines. Just looking up into the sky and seeing a bright star (the local sun) is enough to fill one with wonder. Maybe such a thing was made by a super being.

Throw in things like life and death and a primitive intelligence will strive for answers beyond their ability to understand.

It is no wonder all primitive civilisations across Earth invented god in one form or another as a way of "explaining" things around them.

I think the less educated peoples of Earth will hang on to god concepts as long as such people exist.

Last edited by TallyMan on 03 Dec 2008, 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nietzsche is dead.