Will Atheism or Agnosticism soon be the Human Norm in the Future?

[Azrael]

I'd say so.

Over the length of time we've developed the concept of religion from its humble beginnings of understanding simple earthly concepts into some sort of understanding of why we're on earth and the afterlife. Now, once we get past some of the 'reasoning' of why we're put here on earth, I assume we're heading towards the phase of leaving religion behind as our cover story for understanding why we're here.

I assume the next phase is Atheism and conquering the logical aspects of human life. Instead of asking why we're here on earth (afterlife stuff), I presume we'll start asking and even solving what life itself means.

At this point, it seems like the spiritual winds are pointing in 2 directions; the Islamic self-fulfilling prophecy (especially post-911) and the other which is Atheism, the natural direction of the wind.

[Ashes Remnant]

I hope so. Religion has gotten to the point of annoyance for most.

So, god-willing, it'll be gone.

[∞]

My sentiments exactly, Ashes Remnant.

[Riel]

Originally Posted by Ashes Remnant

I hope so. Religion has gotten to the point of annoyance for most.

So, god-willing, it'll be gone.

lmao

Uh, I think that most people that say that they are 'atheist' are in all actuality agnostic. If you ask them, they will answer that they think there may be a Heaven or some form of karma; this is not atheism.

So if you change the title to 'agnosticism', I would wholeheartedly agree.

[Marly]

I believe so. I end up knowing more and more "atheist" each day. And most christians/catholics I know disown God. They don't really seem to follow his guidelines anymore. Either way, I'm not sure the diminishing of religions is going to be a good thing. Religion is so iffy, it can easily tear people apart or bring them together. Either way, I'm agnostic, so it really doesn't affect me.

[Hikari]

Hm interesting.
I'm personally unsure, it is a big possibility that atheism will become the norm because everyone's loosing faith and science seems to be the favorable opinion.
We have all lost those religious guidelines that the Bible, or whatever you want to refer to, places before us because we are all trying to fit into modern society no matter what the cost so some may switch over to atheism by the masses.... But you may never know, it may switch over to religion being the more popular fad.

[Chevalier Sombre]

Our society has existed for thousands of years, and for a great chunk of all that time, we had nowhere to turn to for answers to questions about life, death, existence, and the various phenomena surrounding us except for mystical ones.

With time, however, we have grown wiser, gained much more knowledge about the workings of the universe, challenged religious dogmas and beliefs that were previously considered undeniable truth, to the point where it's plausible to many that religion not be a necessity in their lives, or at least not something to be fanatically devoted to.

Such a legacy of thousands of years is not so easily and quickly overcome, and this is easily apparent, as the non-theistic are still the most hated minority in the world today, even with all the progress we've made. I think that if there will ever be a day where religion shall be eventually be phased out, it's still a long ways away, and will probably never come, simply because there will always be people who want to believe in things enough to the point where no amount of evidence will be able to dissuade them. In spite of all that, however, it's undeniable that more and more people are growing skeptical of the supernatural, and people are trading spirituality for convenience, having a faith but making it a much less important part of their lives than they would have centuries earlier.

[Bangkok Superpussy]

Originally Posted by Riel

lmao

Uh, I think that most people that say that they are 'atheist' are in all actuality agnostic. If you ask them, they will answer that they think there may be a Heaven or some form of karma; this is not atheism.

So if you change the title to 'agnosticism', I would wholeheartedly agree.

An Atheist is a person who does not believe in any gods. An Agnostic is a person who does not believe that such a thing is knowable. In other words, they are not mutually exclusive; I am both an Atheist and an Agnostic. The fact that I can't prove with any sort of empirical certainty that there isn't a god doesn't mean that I should be reluctant about saying that I don't believe in one.

Additionally, you seem to think that Atheism as a concept also encompasses ideas about an afterlife and karma; this is just patently false, although naturally most people who do not find credibility in the idea of a god don't find credibility in other religious ideas.

Do I think that religion is slowly being phased out by atheism? Absolutely, the statistics heavily reflect that, but there are two points I'd like to make:

a) Religion will never completely go away. I would feel comfortable making the prediction that by the turn of the century, nonreligious people will make up a majority of all people in the world, but they only cover the people who are still religious for cultural reasons or lack of exposure to other sources of information. Some people really just don't fucking care about what makes sense; they are hard wired for faith, and they will devote their lives to indoctrinating other delusional people into their way of life, and they will succeed albeit in lesser numbers than what we are seeing today.

b) Science is, for many people, a substitute for religion and not an alternative, if you get what I mean by that. For that reason, I can see it itself becoming a religion, complete with its own sects, dogma, rituals and subjects of obsession of not worship.

[Forever Atlas]

I'm sure more people especially in secularized nations will become atheist or agnostic. Even the Bible foretells of such events coming to pass. Either that or as Chevalier Sombre said, more people will trade in their spirituality for convenience. It's no secret that especially in the west people who claim to believe in some sort of God or higher being don't even really associate themselves with any one religion and those who do aren't devote practitioners. Religion has been losing it's hold especially in the recent decades. People are apathetic and complacent. Others follow science as the answer to all of mankind's problems. Religion or a spiritual life has been pushed into the background in peoples lives and as more pressures and more distractions come, more will join those figures. There will be a day that I believe religion itself will even come to be banned.

Will this continue? My personal beliefs say no. This is just another sign of the appointed times.

[Phoenix]

Shit, not for a long time. The difference between this and other civilizations adopting new religions is that non-religion will not embark in a "RELIGION IS EVIL, BAN IT" crusade. Non-religious children usually do not go on month-long projects to "convert" their parents. Agnostics do not go door-to-door spreading a message. There are no worldwide efforts to spread atheism to every corner of the world.

If it does happen, it's going to go very, very lowly, almost naturally. At some point, I do think mankind will let go of the divine, but I don't think even my grandchildren will live to see that.

[Lifes.Lover]

I don't honestly believe that religion will completely lose its hold with the human race. At least, not within my lifetime.

Religion has been such a big part of our (humans) lives for so long, it'd be hard to let something like that go at the earliest convenience. And while I'm not a religious person, I can understand the need for it. Religion not only explains why we're here, it also gives us a purpose: something to look forward to. If I honestly wanted to believe in that, I would whole-heartedly.

While science nearly blows religion out of the water, there are people who will always want the comfort that religion can bring, for all that religion is annoying and bothersome to others. So, no, in my lifetime, I don't see a huge collapse of religion happening. I can see it losing power, but religion is huge and powerful, and it's not going to go away that quickly.

[Hidden]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

At some point, I do think mankind will let go of the divine

I hope not, even if that means keeping the worst aspects of religion along with the best.

Originally Posted by Azrael

I assume the next phase is Atheism and conquering the logical aspects of human life.

Conquering the logical aspects of human life? I wasn't aware we were at war.

Originally Posted by Azrael

Instead of asking why we're here on earth (afterlife stuff), I presume we'll start asking and even solving what life itself means.

Rather presumptious. And I'm not certain I would classify asking why we're here on earth as a question of the afterlife.

Originally Posted by Azrael

the Islamic self-fulfilling prophecy (especially post-911)

What is this?

Also, I love that this poll closes in 2012.

[Phoenix]

I hope not, even if that means keeping the worst aspects of religion along with the best.

Is there a good aspect of religion that you can't have without it?

[Mr. Wilhelm]

I don't see religions ever disappearing except if there is a huge change in mankind way to think in a general way, a drastic one, an evolution of minds so to say, what I don't see happening either to all of humanity. Even with science there is holes, existing and new, futur religions will always pretend to fill those holes.

But religion isn't just about how science disproves it, faith makes it all. Science cannot disprove a higher being that watch over us all, it will never be able to, even if science could explain countless dimensions or stuff, religious would say there is one higher science didn't see, and so on. Science cannot give the feeling you're listened when you're alone, that your life is actually important, has a meaning and purpose, or that someone has good things in stock for your life, religion can, that is what makes it'll last as long as mankind.

At last, religion is a wonderful and efficient way to control peoples, so there will always be a politic that will try to use religion.

[Lifes.Lover]

Originally Posted by Mr. Wilhelm

I don't see religions ever disappearing except if there is a huge change in mankind way to think in a general way, a drastic one, an evolution of minds so to say, what I don't see happening either to all of humanity. Even with science there is holes, existing and new, futur religions will always pretend to fill those holes.

But religion isn't just about how science disproves it, faith makes it all. Science cannot disprove a higher being that watch over us all, it will never be able to, even if science could explain countless dimensions or stuff, religious would say there is one higher science didn't see, and so on. Science cannot give the feeling you're listened when you're alone, that your life is actually important, has a meaning and purpose, or that someone has good things in stock for your life, religion can, that is what makes it'll last as long as mankind.

At last, religion is a wonderful and efficient way to control peoples, so there will always be a politic that will try to use religion.

To be entirely truthful, I never felt that religion gave me those feelings of importance, meaning, purpose, and that I'm not alone. In fact, religion made me feel worse, because of a God that I couldn't see and couldn't feel and that did nothing for me in any way.

It's fact that in today's society, there are more and more humans turning from religion to, at the very least, agnosticism, if not full out atheism. Even in my home town, where we see a church on every street, Christianity and religion as a whole has started to flounder, where more and more people are speaking outright of the fact that religion just isn't needed. Now that surprised me.

Do I feel that religion will ever become a minority? Possibly, a long long time from now. But will it ever completely go away? Probably not. Religion is still, even today, a huge part of the world, no matter what religion it is.