What will it take to squash religion?

[Brakefade]

I hope I remain alive to see the day evolution and natural selection is widely accepted as "the answer" for "where do we come from?" Scientist are always making new discoveries that support this, but people still fail to accept the truth. The amount of evidence that evolution and natural selection are facts is so much that I equate religious people to trying to block the sun with one finger.

I think we're almost there, but it's gonna take one last push to break this wide open. Like discovering life or evidence that life once existed in an other part of our solar system. Do you guys think this is our only chance? At this point I don't see how any other form of evidence could convince the rest of the world. I don't even know if life in space would be enough. These people are really stubborn.

[Whitney]

I don't think evolution really answers where we came from, at least not in the sense of why the universe exists; which is God's last hiding place.  I think within our lifetimes we will find more and more religious people accepting evolution as many already do....but I don't think religion well ever dissapear due to scientific discoveries because those who believe can simply to continue pushing God further into the unknown.  God use to live up in the clouds now he lives outside of time.

[donkeyhoty]

What will it take to squash religion?

- A really big shoe.

[Brakefade]

Well I didn't mean where we come from in the first place. I was thinking more in the geological short term. Like that all the apes, including us, shared a common ancestor at some point in history. But let's say scientist one day find some microbes living in the ice caps of Mars. Do you think that would have big impact on religion?

[Squid]

Never underestimate the power of the devoutly religious to rationalize away any evidence no matter how overwhelming.

[Will]

The continuing evolution of the human mind is all it takes. Also, the continued, mindless wars carried out in the name of god could help.

[Whitney]

Well I didn't mean where we come from in the first place. I was thinking more in the geological short term. Like that all the apes, including us, shared a common ancestor at some point in history. But let's say scientist one day find some microbes living in the ice caps of Mars. Do you think that would have big impact on religion?

They already have an excuse for that...The Bible (or insert other religious text) is meant for humans and that is why it doesn't bother mentioning life that exists somewhere else.  Such a discovery may cause some people to leave their religion (such as those who think that if the Bible doesn't mention something so important that it must not be true...though, I'm not sure why aliens would be the last straw for them rather than all the other things it doesn't mention) but there are also religions where the existence of alien life would not conflict or even may support their religion (yes, there are alien  based religions).

[Dnatseih Werdna]

If you look to Europe it is clear that religion is losing more and more ground everyday. Whether we can hope this trend can carry over to the US remains to be seen.

[SteveS]

Aren't people without religion the largest gainers in recent census results?  So, hopefully, just more of the same?

I think that eventually most people will depart from religion.  But, I honestly find it hard to envision a future where religion is completely gone.

God use to live up in the clouds now he lives outside of time.

Kudos - you "touch it with a needle"!  This sentence is dead-on (IMHO, of course  :wink:  ).

[Eclecticsaturn]

if we found extrateresrial life. i think that would crumble peoples thoughts sooooooo much.

[easytrak]

laetusatheos, i thought your first post here was very good - that the possibility of God's existence will always be speculative, neither yes nor no. the more important question then is why is this the case. if God exists, why doesn't he show himself? dispel all doubt? what do you think?

[Huxley]

If we can get religion seperated from politics then religion will become marginalised.  It has little relevence now; without a powerbase it will peter out all together.

It will take a little longer with the Muslims however.

[SteveS]

Huxley: excellent point (religion & politics).  Agreed.

easytrak:

if God exists, why doesn't he show himself? dispel all doubt? what do you think?

I know you directed this question to laetusatheos, but I'd like to point out a problem with the question.  You are asking to work within the framework of god existing, and then to speculate on why god doesn't show himself.  But, god is such an ill-defined concept.  What is god, anyway?  Without defining god, how can anyone answer this question?  And how can anyone define god; certainly not empirically since he doesn't show himself to be measured or studied.  So, isn't any definition just a guess, and a non-factual ill-informed guess at that?

Without the basic assumption that god exists, this problem becomes a whole lot easier.  God doesn't show himself (and dispel all doubt) because god isn't real  :wink:  .

[Whitney]

laetusatheos, i thought your first post here was very good - that the possibility of God's existence will always be speculative, neither yes nor no. the more important question then is why is this the case. if God exists, why doesn't he show himself? dispel all doubt? what do you think?

I think it is because she doesn't care about if we believe or not...or more likely is simply imaginary.

I think the idea of a deity emerged to provide strength to face a life where death is inevitable, hope when there appears to be none, and answers to currently unanswerable questions.  One day, probably not my life time, we will progress past the need to rely on stories for emotional support after realizing that all we really need is the support of each other.  Maybe people will also eventually realize that it is okay to say there are some things we don't know...right now they are okay to say that about god; why not just get rid of the gap filler and say the same of the universe.

[easytrak]

nevertheless you can't say with absolute certainty that God IS NOT there, just as I cannot say with absolute certainty that God IS there.

yes, we could consider that people dreamt up God because they wanted to fill in the blanks. but there is more to it than that. the possibility of God's existence from an intellectual perspective is not difficult. what frightens people the most is perhaps the fact that they think that they will lose their freedom by believing in God.