What will be the last religion to fall to science?
About 200 years ago , the philosopher Immanuel Kant argued at great length about the limits of science, as well as the limits of religion. He pointed out that science cannot do what you are imagining, and in any event religions all the world over are still going strong, regardless of what is happening in first world countries.
In short, I don't see any reason to think that religion will "fall" to science, because any "science" that thinks it can adjudicate such matters has overstepped its mark - gone beyond the boundaries of science.
In short, I don't see any reason to think that religion will "fall" to science, because any "science" that thinks it can adjudicate such matters has overstepped its mark - gone beyond the boundaries of science.
And any religion that pretends to adjudicate the matters it undertakes can easily be viewed as the babbling of nincompoops.
Depending somewhat on one's adoption of Buddhism reincarnation is irrelevant anyway. Loosely speaking I'm Zen Buddhist and to me (and many others of similar inclination) reincarnation is just as irrelevant and fanciful as the Christian ideas of heaven / afterlife.
Actually I think the last religions to fall will probably be fundamentalist Islam or fundamentalist Christianity because they simply close their minds to scientific knowledge and pretend it doesn't exist. Knowledge about evolution or simply trying to find out knowledge about such things in some fundamental Islamic cultures would be enough to warrant being beheaded. Evolution is also treated dismissively in some American schools - a fact I find curious - a nation technologically advanced yet so backwards in other respects.
It was only a couple of years ago that some Muslim cleric declared that anyone who said the Earth revolved around the Sun (as opposed to the other way around) would be beheaded! I gather his more educated associates managed to reverse this decree, but it sums up the fundamentalist attitude towards science and knowledge. Knowledge is power, and while the fundamentalist religions block or frown upon access to scientific knowledge those religions will continue to survive.
When I was at university the handful of Muslim students there excluded themselves from the biology classes that delved into evolution and its mechanisms. Such knowledge was contrary to their beliefs.
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I've left WP indefinitely.
While gullibility is a factor I think it is somewhat simplistic to blame religion entirely on gullibility. Kids born into highly religious cultures stand little chance of escaping it, they are indoctrinated with it from birth. Often scientific knowledge is withheld and the people are discouraged from learning anything that could disagree with those religious beliefs or that disagrees with the established order. The kids may be quite rational and far from gullible in other respects, they are just brought up in a place where strong religious beliefs are endemic.
I view religion as a disease of the mind, it gets passed on from generation to generation. The spread and severity of infection depends very much on geographic location as to what strain of religion they suffer from. The problem of religion is further exacerbated due to those with power. They often hold some sort of religious rank. It is in their own personal interests to perpetuate the religion and withhold knowledge from the masses that would undermine the structure of their society and their positions of power within it. Anyone rocking the boat gets shunned, outcast or worse.
The average kid growing up in a fundamentalist religious environment is likely never to even hear the words "evolution", "big-bang", "cosmology" etc let alone be encouraged to explore knowledge, truth and ask questions for themselves. They grow up with an entirely different mind-set and pass on the same mind set to their own children perpetuating the cycle.
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I've left WP indefinitely.
The Baha'i faith. We are deeply rooted in the marriage of science and religion.
http://info.bahai.org/article-1-5-3-1.html
While gullibility is a factor I think it is somewhat simplistic to blame religion entirely on gullibility. Kids born into highly religious cultures stand little chance of escaping it, they are indoctrinated with it from birth. Often scientific knowledge is withheld and the people are discouraged from learning anything that could disagree with those religious beliefs or that disagrees with the established order. The kids may be quite rational and far from gullible in other respects, they are just brought up in a place where strong religious beliefs are endemic.
I view religion as a disease of the mind, it gets passed on from generation to generation. The spread and severity of infection depends very much on geographic location as to what strain of religion they suffer from. The problem of religion is further exacerbated due to those with power. They often hold some sort of religious rank. It is in their own personal interests to perpetuate the religion and withhold knowledge from the masses that would undermine the structure of their society and their positions of power within it. Anyone rocking the boat gets shunned, outcast or worse.
The average kid growing up in a fundamentalist religious environment is likely never to even hear the words "evolution", "big-bang", "cosmology" etc let alone be encouraged to explore knowledge, truth and ask questions for themselves. They grow up with an entirely different mind-set and pass on the same mind set to their own children perpetuating the cycle.
It depends upon how you define gullibility. If people never question their traditional doctrines then I would figure them gullible. There are enough obviously illogical contradictions within all religious doctrines to inspire sensible questions. That it is uncomfortable to question commonly acceptable beliefs I do not doubt since even scientific progress depends upon that but to do so attacks gullibility.
http://info.bahai.org/article-1-5-3-1.html
Hey I forgot about you guys. Keep up the good work.
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davidred wrote...
I installed Ubuntu once and it completely destroyed my paying relationship with Microsoft.
http://info.bahai.org/article-1-5-3-1.html
Hey I forgot about you guys. Keep up the good work.
Yeah, you look pretty good. It's a kind of deistic humanism, right?
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If songs were lines in a conversation, the situation would be fine.
Unitarian Universalism. We not only accept but welcome scientific advances as contributing to, not conflicting with, our knowledge of the world.
http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml
~Kate
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Ce e amorul? E un lung
Prilej pentru durere,
Caci mii de lacrimi nu-i ajung
Si tot mai multe cere.
--Mihai Eminescu
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