Happy Atheist Forum

This is an interesting read from Psychology Today on Why Atheism Will Replace Religion (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201005/why-atheism-will-replace-religion).
The underlying idea is that the more the world becomes modernized the more atheism will spread. Although, I'm not convinced atheism will one day be the majority view. America is an industrial nation and religion runs rampant. The fear many religious Americans experience is not typically to the extent of "I'm afraid my child be kidnapped in our sleep to be raised in a child army" if you're in Uganda, or "I fear I can't find food today", but a very irrational fear of any number of things, which by comparison are quite silly. In fact it's not always fear that draws them to religion but simply keeps them from leaving it because of the impact it would take on their life. Still, it's understandable what draws Americans to religion but why aren't the same factors true in European countries whose standard of living isn't far different?

I came across this discussion (http://bit.ly/crG97R) on ThinkAtheist.com the other day, which talks about how some atheists teach their children to believe in God. I had always thought that the number of Atheist in the world will increase exponentially, since every Atheist will raise his or her children to become atheists themselves. It seems, however, that this can't be taken at face value; which is really sad to know  

Quote from: "Sophus"In fact it's not always fear that draws them to religion but simply keeps them from leaving it because of the impact it would take on their life. Still, it's understandable what draws Americans to religion but why aren't the same factors true in European countries whose standard of living isn't far different?

I think part of the answer lies in how many Americans have no other way to find community.  The American way of life typically leaves little time for families to spend much quality time together.  So few families in the US even manage to have dinner together.  Also, leisure time is spent staring at a television screen, computer screen   , or video game screen, rather than spending time out and about actively involved in their neighborhood/community.  And more and more families lived spread all over the place making regular family get togethers a rare occasion.  Add all of that together and organized religion with its regular meeting times, picnics, phone chains, meal services, etc. fill those voids.  

I think of the movie about the Lost Boys.  When they came to the US, they felt extreme loneliness and lack of community.  They had food, electricity, clothes, clean water, safety, but they didn't have the sense of close community they were used to having.  The result?  Loneliness and depression.  One mentioned that in the US people have "things" but not each other.  I think that's the difference.  Religion is the only sense community for many Americans.

I hope the day comes when the word "atheism" becomes obsolete.

Quote from: "Businessocks"I think part of the answer lies in how many Americans have no other way to find community.  The American way of life typically leaves little time for families to spend much quality time together.  So few families in the US even manage to have dinner together.  Also, leisure time is spent staring at a television screen, computer screen  :up:

QuoteI hope the day comes when the word "atheism" becomes obsolete.

Me too.

@FTLebanon That's bizarre but suppose I shouldn't be too surprised because my father was kind of the same way in the sense that he wasn't a believer but had no problem with my mother trying to make me a religious nut. Makes you wonder....

Quote from: "Sophus"This is an interesting read from Psychology Today on Why Atheism Will Replace Religion (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201005/why-atheism-will-replace-religion).
The underlying idea is that the more the world becomes modernized the more atheism will spread. Although, I'm not convinced atheism will one day be the majority view. America is an industrial nation and religion runs rampant. The fear many religious Americans experience is not typically to the extent of "I'm afraid my child be kidnapped in our sleep to be raised in a child army" if you're in Uganda, or "I fear I can't find food today", but a very irrational fear of any number of things, which by comparison are quite silly. In fact it's not always fear that draws them to religion but simply keeps them from leaving it because of the impact it would take on their life. Still, it's understandable what draws Americans to religion but why aren't the same factors true in European countries whose standard of living isn't far different?

I think globalisation has helped a heck of a lot. Religion has always seemed to be quite adaptive. Initially they tried to stifle Galileo but eventually his ideas caught on and enlightened the masses. Religion had to adapt to stay alive. It seems, wherever a religious enclave is under pressure from outside forces, it is resistant to a point (where enough people start to learn the truth and question what they have been taught), then has to relent to change, or die out. The US seems to have created a nice cosy religious enclave for itself since the 50's and has been pretty impenetrable till this last decade. The internet has created a shit storm that we are beginning to see shine through. There's no escaping reality unless you actually unplug from it completely.

I don't think atheism will be the norm eventually, rather, some kind of equilibrium between spirituality and science. I do believe the god theory will die out almost entirely although the small pockets of believers will have to become incredibly hard on its followers in order not to change - think Amish type settlements but with added brimstone, etc.

Also, I think there is a positive correlation between the level of hardship on a population and intensity of religious adherence. As long as there is poverty, famine and war, there will be vast swathes of people turning to god for comfort. As soon as these kinds of hardships are eradicated, we will see the decline of hardcore religion.

This kind of change takes centuries but I believe right now, seeds of reality are being sown. Today's children are going to grow up knowing, or at least acknowledging the outside world because of what the internet has shown them. Their parents didn't have that opportunity because they were at the mercy of what their tiny world told them to believe and they had nothing to counter that.

I honestly think that some sort of religion will always be around.

Quote from: "Gawen"I honestly think that some sort of religion will always be around.

I agree.

Quote from: "karadan"

Quote from: "Gawen"I honestly think that some sort of religion will always be around.

I agree.

Always is a long time. We are maybe just decades from 'The Singularity' the turning point when our computers are brighter than us. What happens in the century following that? Maybe we will all be kept in little zoo's and laughed at by robots.

Well, there are so many different ways the human race could go, we could literally be here for centuries discussing it. If we were to take a more conservative view of how the future will unfold, ie, no mules to radically change future history, then i'd be happy to contend that enclaves of religion, no matter how small, will exist for as long as humanity does in its current form.

Ie, when we start talking about being able (through technology) to create Dyson Spheres or relinquish our physical form to that of pure energy, then yeah, i think religion will be moot by then.

Quote from: "karadan"If we were to take a more conservative view of how the future will unfold, ie, no mules to radically change future history, then i'd be happy to contend that enclaves of religion, no matter how small, will exist for as long as humanity does in its current form.

This is how I see it. Some people will always be gullible. Some people will always let someone else do their thinking for them. And some people will remain ignorant or willingly unable to adjust to reality.

Quote from: "Gawen"

Quote from: "karadan"If we were to take a more conservative view of how the future will unfold, ie, no mules to radically change future history, then i'd be happy to contend that enclaves of religion, no matter how small, will exist for as long as humanity does in its current form.

This is how I see it. Some people will always be gullible. Some people will always let someone else do their thinking for them. And some people will remain ignorant or willingly unable to adjust to reality.

I think the crux of the matter is the fact that neurologists are discovering parts of the human brain that are essentially made for magical thinking.  I think if there is a biological predisposition for religion (which it looks like there may be) than of course religion (or religious thinking at the very least) will always exist in some form.

Quote from: "pinkocommie"

Quote from: "Gawen"

Quote from: "karadan"If we were to take a more conservative view of how the future will unfold, ie, no mules to radically change future history, then i'd be happy to contend that enclaves of religion, no matter how small, will exist for as long as humanity does in its current form.

This is how I see it. Some people will always be gullible. Some people will always let someone else do their thinking for them. And some people will remain ignorant or willingly unable to adjust to reality.

I think the crux of the matter is the fact that neurologists are discovering parts of the human brain that are essentially made for magical thinking. I think if there is a biological predisposition for religion (which it looks like there may be) than of course religion (or religious thinking at the very least) will always exist in some form.

...and, of course, religious apologists will claim it was specifically put there by god, as our biological "connection" to the divine.  This argument was even made by famed neurologist (admittedly playing devil's advocate) V. Ramachandran.

Quote from: "Davin"I hope the day comes when the word "atheism" becomes obsolete.

It would be so nice if people who believed in supernatural deities were the anomaly.

Quote from: "Shine"

Quote from: "Davin"I hope the day comes when the word "atheism" becomes obsolete.

It would be so nice if people who believed in supernatural deities were the anomaly.

I really don't care if people believe in make believe. I just wish they would be quiet about it and leave it out of government.

Quote from: "Davin"I hope the day comes when the word "atheism" becomes obsolete.

I couldn't agree more with that particular statement.

Given that atheism is really only a rejection of a single assertion (that a god of some form exists), it also doesn't tell you anything about why that rejection is held by someone.  I would like to see a few other "ism"s become more prevalent to help people in those areas of their life that they think religion needs to be at the moment.  The first would be skepticism augmented by the scientific method as the best method of determining truth.  [That's why I have to reject the assertion that a god or gods exist since there is just insufficient (well, none really) evidence for that assertion.]  If everyone held that such principles were really the best method of explaining the universe around us they might not fear that universe quite as much.  To augment that, humanism or something similar combined with the skepticism and scientific methods can help with the formation of moral principles and other aspects of interaction between individuals and groups.  Humans are very social creatures and there is no reason to ignore that fact, so help people have a world view that is both more fair and more compassionate than what most religions teach.

Quote from: "Sophus"America is an industrial nation and religion runs rampant .... Still, it's understandable what draws Americans to religion but why aren't the same factors true in European countries whose standard of living isn't far different?

Quote from: "Psychology Today"It seems that people turn to religion as a salve for the difficulties and uncertainties of their lives. In social democracies, there is less fear and uncertainty about the future because social welfare programs provide a safety net and better health care means that fewer people can expect to die young.    [Emphasis added by poster]