How realistic is it really?

[ElDinero]

So why put all this effort into religion bashing when we know a) it's not gonna happen, and b) would we really like the alternative, the consequences – total chaos – any better?

On what basis do you say that the alternative would be chaos?

There are many reasons for putting effort into opposing religion; two of the most compelling are the indoctrination of children and the privileges afforded to religious groups that are not accessible to atheists and/or members of other religions, depending on where you are.

In my opinion, yes I would love a world without religion. I think Hitchens often says something like 'Getting rid of religion wouldn't be sufficient to solve the world's problems, but it would be necessary'. And to be honest, I think in the western world at least, you'll see religion's power diminish over the next couple of generations. And I think it's fair to say it would work like a see-saw (teeter-totter), where there'd be a tipping point and things would speed up greatly. Atheists and agnostics are supposedly the fastest growing demographic in the USA, and I can't see any reason why that will change as greater evidence becomes available and access to it is easier. The internet is absolutely essential in this.

Once you take away the power of majority, churches will no longer be as powerful a lobby group. Don't forget that most politicians don't really give a shit what people believe, they want votes and will go wherever the votes are. So I think it's conceivable that maybe 50-60 years from now, religion's influence in the western world will be comparatively negligible. Maybe sooner, who knows. In less literate parts of the world, this process will be much slower, sadly.