What do you see as the future of religion/faith/spirituality in America and around the world?

[More Than A Feeling]

Just throwin' it out there.

[sam sarrha]

1. it is probably generational.. the kids may change a little.. each generation.. I dont see a quantum

jump in consciousness.. there are not enough Tibetans to go around to effect much change anytime soon

[Erika]

2. Free Tibet Now

The common bumper sticker.

[sam sarrha]

9. are you familiar with their message

[dysfunctional press]

3. hopefully it will come to an end...

and we can get down to the business of running a planet & civilization.

[Union Thug]

4. I hope it vanishes completely and is treated with the same historical

perspective as a Dionysian fest.

There are MUCH better opiates than religion. Believe me.

[personman]

7. I think I'm with you on this one.

Ignorance is too expensive. Truth is too important.

"Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines." - Bertrand Russell

[ClintonTyree]

8. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one....

who wishes to live in a world without organized religion. It truly boggles my mind each and every time I consider the number of people who hold onto a Bronze Age myth as total, absolute truth. I can't wrap my mind around their thought process (or lack thereof). But that's just me. :shrug:

[madrchsod]

5. nothing much will change.

religion/faith/spirituality will exist in one form or another until we disappear from this earth. it was in the beginning and it will be at the end.

[mntleo2]

6. I Wish We Had More Liberation Theology

...I love the concept and it could apply to many different religions.

My 2 cents
Cat In Seattle

[Meshuga]

10. It depends on what happens

As long as there is poverty, despair, hard times, moments of uncertainty, etc. there will be some sort of mysticism gaining strength. Historically, when things get tough the mystical gain ground and when things are going well and the society is thriving rational thought thrive.

See, in the case of Christianity, it came about at a rough time in history when people were oppressed by the Romans, saw their world as a horrible place and thought that there was probably another world out there where things were more bareable... They thought, "Fuck this world let's live for the next one...."

Rational thought gains ground and we see a lot of advances when things are well. In the post-911 world, when things became more uncertain, the religious right seemed to gain some ground. At least that's my perception.

[kwassa]

11. There will always be religion and faith and spirituality.

Always has been, is now, and forever shall be.

It is an essential human need.

[DeSwiss]

12. I see spirituality as distinctly different from religion...

....I see religion as "one" consequence of spirituality (although I hope not the only one). But we have found that religions have persisted for all of recorded history, and that there is evidence that spiritual beliefs existed in most of prehistory as well (prehistoric burial sites where totems and other spirtual relics have been found).

So if one looks at prehistoric spirituality based loosely upon individual and small group beliefs, and compare it with today's ritualized and formal religious institutions, then I suppose one could say that this is a form of "evolution" as well. But whether it is a true evolution or simply a 2000 to 4000 year-old tangent is hard to say at this juncture. It is a very twisted and warped one nonetheless, in my opinion.

It could also be said that hierachical leadership in early prehistoric tribes, and the rise of the state as a precursor to civilization, is the twin of spirituality and later religion. And that one can hardly exist without the other. This dependency still persists as we can well see, and in recent years has made a resurgence. A terrible resurgence.

One can hope that what we see today, is religion in its "death throes," refusing once and for all to bow down and succumb to rationality and science. But history is also replete with evidence of institutional religion's attempts to stifle science and rational thought. And as rationality would not be denied, religion has acquiesed. Albeit grudgingly.

An interesting article was published earlier this year to show how irrational thoughts and beliefs can effect anyone -- even the rational among us.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,1864753,00.html">Humans 'Hardwired For Religion'

James Randerson
Monday September 4, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

The battle by scientists against "irrational" beliefs such as creationism is ultimately futile, a leading experimental psychologist said today.The work of Bruce Hood, a professor at Bristol University, suggests that magical and supernatural beliefs are hardwired into our brains from birth, and that religions are therefore tapping into a powerful psychological force.

"I think it is pointless to think that we can get people to abandon their belief systems because they are operating at such a fundamental level," said Prof Hood. "No amount of rational evidence is going to be taken on board to get people to abandon those ideas."

He told the annual British Association Festival of Science in Norwich that the standard bearers for evolution, such as the biologist Richard Dawkins and the philosopher Daniel Dennet, had adopted a counterproductive and "simplistic" position.

"They have basically said there are two types of people in the world," he said - "those who believe in the supernatural and those who do not. But almost everyone entertains some form of irrational beliefs even if they are not religious.

"For example, many people would be reluctant to part with a wedding ring for an identical ring because of the personal significance it holds. Conversely, many people are disgusted by an object if it has associations with 'evil'."

In his lectures, Prof Hood produces a rather boring-looking blue cardigan with large brown buttons and invites people in the audience to put it on, for a £10 reward. As you may expect, there is invariably a sea of raised hands. He then reveals that the notorious murderer Fred West wore the cardigan. Nearly everyone puts their hand down.

Unfortunately, it is just a stunt: the cardigan is not West's. But it illustrates the way even the most rational of people are can be irrationally made to feel uncomfortable.

Another experiment involves asking subjects to cut up a photograph. When his team then measures their galvanic skin response - ie sweat production, which is what lie-detector tests monitors - there is a jump in the reading. This does not occur when a person destroys an object of less sentimental significance.

So it would appear that our only hope lies in our continued evolution as a species to the point where the overwhleming evidence of the flaws in religious belief become so unteneable as to no longer be able hold onto them. The question is, can we survive long enough without killing ourselves from the fruits of the other aspects of our evolution, such as pollution, racism, guns, sexism, bombs, classism, the Patriarchy, etc., etc.

It doesn't look good.....



Merry ChristmaHanuKwanzakah and FSM Day!!!

[Danger Mouse]

13. Good question...

...but difficult to really answer. What does the future hold? Will fundies gain more ground? I think that in the distant future, as we become more and more enlightened, and we become better able to solve society's problems, most people will let go of religion, leaving only the truly fanatical...just a thought.
I don't think it'll ever go away completely, much as many of us would like it too.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

14. Spirituality is different from religion.

Spirituality is believing in what you feel. Religion is beliving in what you are brought up to feel. Sometimes they are honestly the same, but too often people accept what they are told their entire lives, for no real good reasons, without having gone out and shopped around and seen what else the world has to offer.

Religion causes a lot of problems. At the very least it is in need of a serious makeover, but I fear that those that need it most will not benefit, as they are too rigid. They will eventually break, I have no doubt. Only the flexible survive.

[Evoman]

15. The future, Conan?

Hope: A race of beings ruled by reason, in control of their emotions. Like vulcans, but more emotionally expressive. A race that doesn't accept faith as an answer. A race that doesn't make up things about the universe to feel like its answered some very hard scientific questions.

Prediction: The religous elements of our world will raze the earth to the group in an orgy of faith and belief.

[Chulanowa]

16. Let me be the lone voice...

...among all the people clamouring for a total erasure of Religion. You guys know you sound like Libertarians on meth, right? :) Aaaaaanyway.

Islam is going to come to dominate in the near future. Why are so many Christians in America terrified of the religion? Because it scares 'em. it has a lot of appeal. For one, even amid all the sects of Islam, it's still a more unified theology than say, Baptist Christianity. Its message is simple and easy to grasp, and is easily refined into a clear and potent message. Unlike the ever-convoluting paths of christianity, there is very littel obscured in Islam. What you see is pretty much what you get, so there is no inherent penis waggling over who has a better understanding of passage X. Islam also has appeal over Christianity for groups sufering political, racial, and religious oppression. Whereas Christianity tells the suffering to bear it out for rewards in heavan, Islam tells its adherents to seek a just life.

So there's that.

I also see Mormonism getting bigger, at least outside America. It'll take a while to polish its edges, but the Latter-Day Saints are gaining a lot of ground in Latin America and Africa.

Mainstream Christianity is already withering. Corrupt evangelism and religious politics have soured the field in America, and likely abroad in many other nations, as well. Whether Christianity can pull itself from that mire without falling into the "secularly religious" end of the spectrum remains to be seen. I expect that a lot of splinter denominations will simply fade away as people turn away from more extreme messages and start seeking the truth behind Christianity, the words and actions of Yeshua - Private congregations are growing, and I expect that if Christianity is going to be around in a recognizable form in the future, it'll come out of the groundwork of these unorganized worshippers.

Hinduism and Judaism aren't big on prostletyzing. I expect they'll probably remain rather constant. I expect that there will be a brief flare of Hindu religiosity at some point, but not for more than a decade.

Atheists come and go. They'll likely stay pretty constant in number for a good while. As will Buddhists.

Meanwhile, idiots who have no idea what Buddhism is but like to watch anime and call themselves Buddhist (or more laughably, Shinto) will only grow more numerous

I expect Wicca to continue growing, modestly, as well as more shamanic paths. Cultural-specific pagan paths, however, are disappearing fast.

So anyway, that's my thoughts :)