Why I Think Religion will Be Around for A Long Time

[stromboli]

Left the LDS church 23 years ago. Before and after I studied religion as a whole, everything from the history of Christianity to Hindusim and Buddhism. I am a natural student, always curious and always learning about things that interest me. One thing I figured out is that religion has staying power. Consider the fact that Hinduism and Buddhism both predate Christianity and Islam by centuries and are still very much with us. Islam, which from the outside seems an idiotic religion, is growing. ISIS is able to attract followers and remain dangerous even when being opposed by several governments. It is alive because it also attracts a lot of sympathetic followers; including behind the scenes from some governments.

Hinduism as a religion has an enormous cultural tradition that is historically rich; the 4 books that make up the Mahabharata, including Rig Veda and the Bhagavad Gita numbers well over 30,000 pages and parts of it, the Rig Veda, was originally written in Sanskrit. That is how old it is. Buddhism predated Christianity by a few centuries and was well established long before inroads from Islam and Christianity, and for many reasons is still relevant today.

Christianity today is nothing like the religion of the 3rd century or even a century ago. Christmas was viewed as a pagan holiday by our early churches in both England and this country. But because the holiday was so popular, Christians threw a manger scene into all the pagan ritual and made it Jesus' birthday. In short, morphed to stay relevant in modern times.

Religions are struggling now more than ever. Mormonism is a good example. They lowered the missionary age to 18 and put 43% more missionaries in the field, but are getting only a 4% return. The reason largely is because we are in the information age. You can learn about anything with the click of a button. And it would seem from that, that religions are doomed.

But they aren't. Mormonism has stayed static and even grown a little, from about 11 million when I left to a reported 14 million. the numbers are actually bogus, but in fact there is a loyal core of about 4-6 million that are still there, regardless of the facts, changing doctrine or anything else.

People find in religion a crutch, an easy way of rationalizing an uncertain world around them; easy answers to difficult questions. My experience is that the rank and file are mentally lazy, more likely to accept canned answers than seek out real ones. Religions across the board are becoming more conservative, more populated by the elderly and more likely to be condemning than open. Over time there will be a paradigm shift where religions will be both more conservative and more harsh; and at the same time, other sects will be more open and more accepting. 

the first Christian church I went to was hard core and fundamentalist. The last one was about openness and acceptance. Same religion, different viewpoint. Makes no sense from a big picture standpoint, but most people are subjective and narrow in their view. Religions will morph and change to stay alive. They have done so and will continue to. Hopefully the more restrictive and narrow ones will decline and shrink, but it is impossible to say. Right now we have a bigger dichotomy than ever, people accepting of LGBTs and even evolution, others diametrically opposed to that.

religion is going through throes that are more visible because we can see more and know more. But it will exist for a long time, both because it will change to survive and also because it is provides the easy answers to people too lazy to seek it for themselves.

[Hydra009]

They're still doomed, it's just a lot slower decline than anticipated.  So yes, it'll be around for a long time, just not forever.

I can't speak for other countries, but in the USA there's a noticeable dip in religion in a relatively short timespan.

And since Mormonism was mentioned specifically, it may not be growing as fast we've been led to believe by the church figures - perhaps holding steady as the ARIS poll suggests (1.4% of the total pop in 1990 and 1.4% of the total pop in 2008).  Combine that with a large dip in youth retention rates and the LDS church's prospects seem much less rosy.

I think the main problem for us secularists in the near future is going to be removing the psychological dependence of people on religion.  Getting people to let go of these institutions and their ideologies which they have all too often build their lives around.  Not an easy task.

[Solitary]

Religion will always be with us as long as it gives answers for the human condition that comes from no other source, not even science, or philosophy. What Buddha originally taught before it was corrupted by other religions is that suffering is caused by selfish desire. But the problem is how do you stop selfish desire when you desire life and have to die? He said we would all have been better off if we were never born. I agree, and even with all the suffering I have gone through in the past and now from selfish desires, I still have the will to live. We have no choice when it comes to old age and death---so much for freewill. Religion is from reaching beyond our grasp for transcendence.  Solitary   

[stromboli]

I'm well aware of the growth of Mormonism because I'm also on ex-Mormon forums. The church has gone through several sea changes including dumping polygamy (lost members, gained members) blacks and the priesthood (lost, gained) now the LGBT thing. Mormonism is kind of a bellwether of religion in that it is very conservative at its core but has to present different faces to attract different people.

the biggest changes I see currently are in Catholicism and Christianity generally, who are losing members rapidly. that has more to do with the level of education and also exposure of the problems like abuse and homophobia in the west versus less in Africa and the Middle East. that is my take on it.

[Munch]

maybe at one point all religions will erode away until they all become one mass.

But then, looking at the insanity from islam of late, in this modern era, I think even if the other religions did erode away, others would just grow, since humankind is always looking for another cult to join up to for answers.

[Solitary]

I don't think religion is necessarily bad, just the belief in religious dogma and Testaments that are obviously made by insane men that hated women, and were bigots, prejudice, violent power hungry jerks, that wanted to control the masses with fear, just like ISIS and the politicians do now. Solitary

[Hydra009]

maybe at one point all religions will erode away until they all become one mass.

But then, looking at the insanity from islam of late, in this modern era, I think even if the other religions did erode away, others would just grow, since humankind is always looking for another cult to join up to for answers.

The odd thing with that is that while new religious movements (aka cults) spring up like crazy, very few of them survive for very long, let alone make it big.  There are only four religions conceived in recent history that I know of that were even slightly successful:  Mormonism, Jehovah's Witness, Bahai Faith, and Scientology - and only Scientology can't be said to be either an offshoot or closely related to an extant religion.

I'm not convinced that a new religion would/could replace the ancient ones should they decline out of existence.

[Hydra009]

I don't think religion is necessarily bad, just the belief in religious dogma and Testaments that are obviously made by insane men that hated women, and were bigots, prejudice, violent power hungry jerks, that wanted to control the masses with fear, just like ISIS and the politicians do now.

Okay, so that leaves what, exactly?

[ApostateLois]

People need religion because they are terrified of death. Religion promises them that, no matter how shitty their lives are now, they'll get a fantastic reward after they are dead--IF they follow the correct set of rules. This inevitably includes things such as eating certain animals but not others, refraining from masturbation, men treating women as their personal doormats, not being gay (even if you are), and regarding everyone outside your religion as inferior for not following your particular rule book. People are willing to endure all sorts of horrors in order to be assured of a blissful afterlife to replace the crappy one they have now.  It is that pathetic desperation for an afterlife that will keep religion going, even among women and homosexuals, who are universally reviled by religions everywhere.

[stromboli]

Similar thoughts occurred to me at my sister's funeral. I have accepted my own mortality, but the religious hope for immortality, to be able to wake up in some glorious place where their loved ones will be waiting for them. All the restrictive stuff like you can't be gay and can't sleep around have in my opinion more to do with keeping reproductive issues in order, based on a Bronze Age need to reproduce and maintain a populace.

Now that we understand venereal diseases and AIDS and other issues around reproducing it makes considerably less sense. Science replaces religion with knowledge, and superstition with explanations. We have removed the reasons and excuses for those beliefs and that is what makes us the bad people.

[Hijiri Byakuren]

Religion will be around for a long time for this simple reason:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkCwFkOZoOY