Why the future of religion is bleak
May 2, 2015 at 4:16 pm
(This post was last modified: May 2, 2015 at 4:18 pm by nihilistcat.)
In sharing this article by Daniel Dennett, I'd like to preface it with some of my own thoughts on this matter.
One notable thing (just from my own anecdotal observations), religion is rapidly declining in places that afford its citizens high quality education e.g. Western Europe (particularly northern Europe), the northeast and west coast here in the US, Australia, etc. In places with poor academic performance (the Islamic world, the midwest and southern United States, Latin America, etc.) religion is alive and well (and growing). This parallels a pattern in religion (think how the Catholic church, at one time, didn't allow its adherents access to its bible).
As people are exposed to information like evolutionary biology, geology, astrophysics, archaeology, etc., it will become exceedingly apparent that religious claims are no more than mythic legend. The only thing that can slow this intellectual evolution is to deny people access to education (like the medieval Catholic church did). In other words, you can think of atheism as analogous to the next reformation, and its protagonists as the new reformers. But its reach will be global, not confined to any one particular religious system. And as humans begin to base our decision making on rationality and reality, informed by a radical allegiance to human rights, liberty, and human dignity, we will all reap the benefits.
Okay, hopefully everyone enjoys the article (see link below).
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-futu...1430104785
One notable thing (just from my own anecdotal observations), religion is rapidly declining in places that afford its citizens high quality education e.g. Western Europe (particularly northern Europe), the northeast and west coast here in the US, Australia, etc. In places with poor academic performance (the Islamic world, the midwest and southern United States, Latin America, etc.) religion is alive and well (and growing). This parallels a pattern in religion (think how the Catholic church, at one time, didn't allow its adherents access to its bible).
As people are exposed to information like evolutionary biology, geology, astrophysics, archaeology, etc., it will become exceedingly apparent that religious claims are no more than mythic legend. The only thing that can slow this intellectual evolution is to deny people access to education (like the medieval Catholic church did). In other words, you can think of atheism as analogous to the next reformation, and its protagonists as the new reformers. But its reach will be global, not confined to any one particular religious system. And as humans begin to base our decision making on rationality and reality, informed by a radical allegiance to human rights, liberty, and human dignity, we will all reap the benefits.
Okay, hopefully everyone enjoys the article (see link below).
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-the-futu...1430104785
