(September 7, 2011 at 5:45 pm)ThomM Wrote: Over the millenia - religions had come and gone -and I expect that to continue
THe fact is - the USA is more religious today than it was when it was founded Largely by deists whose beliefs in gods do not extend to organized religion. Today - a deist could probably not get elected president. Most of the founding fathers were as adamant against organized religions as they were against England.
A recent study mentioned in the NY Daily News showed that today - however - most do not argue their religious points as they did in the past because most do not actually believe much of what their religions say. THe reason why younger people stay in religion is largely family pressure that is not worth the argument to them - but they have no intention of supporting it when that pressure is gone.
THE problem is that religions is largely a product of ancient times - and of the beliefs of those times. Over the centuries - religions were stupid enough to attempt to argue their validity over what is scientifically proven to be true - which worked only as long as the average person got little or no education. Today - however - the idiot theists who continue to claim their fairy tales to be inerrant are facing a well educated populace who knows better. As more and more of the claims of religion get natural explanations - or are proven to be wrong - the basis for the religion is undermined.
Religion today no longer has the political control it once had - and its control over the mind of youth is decimated every time another catholic school is closed due to lack of students,
AS noted - one only needs to go to a church service on a non-holiday to see that religion is growing old and dying. THERE is a shortage of clergy in virtually every religion on the earth. And the clergy no longer automatically garners the respect it once did.
While there are still enough uneducated people left in the world to keep religion with followers - those people do not have the money religion needs to survive. THE ones who do have the money - are the ones who are educated enough to know that religion is MYTH - and always has been
Good observation, I don’t know if you are saying Religion will keep growing or will shrink.
My gut feeling is that most will shrink and be replaced by spiritual sided people rather the Religious people. Spiritual meaning much more open minded to other possibility with good intention. Rather than giving it all up to mastering the afterlife by med evil obedience