Religion still matters

[Vee]

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good Sunday.
Last night, while battling insomnia, I had this crazy thought: what if RF stopped working (I hope it doesn't happen)? It could be for a number of reasons: government censorship, lack of funds, internet gets disconnected, alien invasion... Anyway, my though was, if RF stopped working, what would I have retained from my experience here?
Two things stood out:
1 - Despite all our differences in background and beliefs, we have more in common than things that set us apart. By the end of the day most of us want the same things and are looking for answers to the same questions.
2 - Even though religion has been dying a slow death and many say righteously so, we spend hours talking about it, debating different ideologies and their roles in our lives, looking for the answers to the most basic existential questions, looking for a meaning in our lives. This means so much that many of the members here are non religious or atheists, but here they are, talking about religion and sharing beliefs.
So, religion might continue it's downward spiral a while longer, until it gets it's final blow that I believe will be politically induced, but we'll have to wait and see. But as long as it lasts, religion still matters, a lot.

What would you have retained from your experience in this forum?

 

[exchemist]

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good Sunday.
Last night, while battling insomnia, I had this crazy thought: what if RF stopped working (I hope it doesn't happen)? It could be for a number of reasons: government censorship, lack of funds, internet gets disconnected, alien invasion... Anyway, my though was, if RF stopped working, what would I have retained from my experience here?
Two things stood out:
1 - Despite all our differences in background and beliefs, we have more in common than things that set us apart. By the end of the day most of us want the same things and are looking for answers to the same questions.
2 - Even though religion has been dying a slow death and many say righteously so, we spend hours talking about it, debating different ideologies and their roles in our lives, looking for the answers to the most basic existential questions, looking for a meaning in our lives. This means so much that many of the members here are non religious or atheists, but here they are, talking about religion and sharing beliefs.
So, religion might continue it's downward spiral a while longer, until it gets it's final blow that I believe will be politically induced, but we'll have to wait and see. But as long as it lasts, religion still matters, a lot.

What would you have retained from your experience in this forum?

I see little evidence that the decline of religion is politically induced. The last people to try to stamp it out politically were the Communist regimes of the Warsaw Pact - and now look at them.

I've learned bits and pieces about religions here, including one I never knew existed (Baha'i). I've had some surprises concerning some branches of Christianity, too. I've also learnt some good science here, especially about abiogenesis. And I've gained some insights into the politics and outlook of the US Religious Right, which has been an eye-opener.

 

[Gargovic Malkav]

I've learned that Xian is an unusual way to spell Christian.
When I first saw that word, I thought it was some Chinese philosophy or religion I had never heard of before.

 

[Vee]

I see little evidence that the decline of religion is politically induced.

I'm not talking about right now, but I believe we're heading in that direction.

 

[Estro Felino]

That is a very good thread.
I think we all have our own beliefs (a religion, or the lack thereof) because we need to give meaning to our lives.
We choose this meaning every day. We renew it.
The word meaning in my language comes from the Latin expression : signa facere (hence "signify") which means " to make signs".
We express ourselves through typing, through signs.

I think that what makes a forum special is that we communicate and express ourselves.
So differently. And that is amazing.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good Sunday.
Last night, while battling insomnia, I had this crazy thought: what if RF stopped working (I hope it doesn't happen)? It could be for a number of reasons: government censorship, lack of funds, internet gets disconnected, alien invasion... Anyway, my though was, if RF stopped working, what would I have retained from my experience here?
Two things stood out:
1 - Despite all our differences in background and beliefs, we have more in common than things that set us apart. By the end of the day most of us want the same things and are looking for answers to the same questions.
2 - Even though religion has been dying a slow death and many say righteously so, we spend hours talking about it, debating different ideologies and their roles in our lives, looking for the answers to the most basic existential questions, looking for a meaning in our lives. This means so much that many of the members here are non religious or atheists, but here they are, talking about religion and sharing beliefs.
So, religion might continue it's downward spiral a while longer, until it gets it's final blow that I believe will be politically induced, but we'll have to wait and see. But as long as it lasts, religion still matters, a lot.

What would you have retained from your experience in this forum?

My honest opinion as close as I can get to how the everyday world works. Religion will in effect never die as long as there are humans. Religion is in the most objective and descriptive sense a world view including morality and values. I as an atheist am even religious in that sense.

 

[Quintessence]

Hmm.

I'm not one of those who believes the story about religion being in decline. That is mostly because I'm aware of how modern understanding of "religion" is a construct biased towards particular expressions of what religion looks like. When taking a more cross-cultural, cross-historical view (peeking behind the curtain of the label as it were) the substance of "religion" (or call it something else if one prefers) has been with humanity since recorded history. It's not going away; it's inherent to the human condition.

At no point will humans stop needing to grapple with existential questions and how those questions apply to their day-to-day lives. At no point will we stop telling stories to guide us in this endeavor, form communities to share these stories, express values and lessons, enact celebrations and rituals that express it all. No. None of that is going away. Or rather, when it does start faltering - when folks start loosing a central axis of meaning and value in their lives - it leaves a gap that something will swoop in to fill. And when folks are not mindful of crafting their religion, the stuff that fills that gap can be maladaptive. I think of conspiracy theories in particular as an example of this phenomena. But I digress...

 

[SigurdReginson]

Honestly, I'd be real disappointed if this forum stopped working some day. It has been a useful tool for me in helping me to better understand myself, and the folks here are truly great.

I think my first takeaway would be very similar to yours, as well. As different as humanity is, we are all very much the same as a whole.

Also, truth is a finicky thing... It's subjective, and it is colored by the lense of people who have drastically varying life experiences. It comes in varying degrees of efficacy, but there is no absolute truth; at least, not anything that we can intimately know. Many people seem to think there is, which I do find interesting...

When I first found this forum, it was years ago. I've made a few accounts, deleted them, and made some more whenever I had questions. I kept this one, though, and I think I'll keep it for as long as I can until the website inevitably shuts down.

When I first started my journey here, I was questioning my Christianity. In talking to folks here of different religious backgrounds, it gave me a standard to measure my own religious beliefs outside of my own limited understanding. I was pointed in different directions where I could explore, and in doing so I've learned a great deal. Of course, there is also the realization that in learning more things, you find there is so much more to learn... That's ok, though. I hope the day never comes where I think I know enough.

 

[Pete in Panama]

...religion might continue it's downward spiral a while longer... ...What would you have retained from your experience in this forum?

This forum (as beneficial as it may be) is a vestige of the greater question you posed by assumption: whether religion is on a downward spiral.

imho now more than ever we need to differentiate between the form and the substance. The form of religion is people going to church and singing hymns. The substance of religion is the reuniting of populations w/ a clear sense of right/wrong sacred/profane etc. and joining together in a force for good.

More of mho is that it's happening more than ever. Sure, it's hard to be sure it's what we're looking what w/ the duplicity of our news sources, but my take is that in this wonderful info-age we're in that this rebirth of religion can be verified.

 

[Brickjectivity]

What would you have retained from your experience in this forum?

This forum is to me an extension of a previous forum I was with, and the takeaway is the same for me. People cannot listen to one another. There is no way for me to impart to you what I think. On the other hand you will tend to believe things that you repeatedly hear. Belief seems whimsical.

 

[Vee]

This forum is to me an extension of a previous forum I was with, and the takeaway is the same for me. People cannot listen to one another. There is no way for me to impart to you what I think. On the other hand you will tend to believe things that you repeatedly hear. Belief seems whimsical.

I hope once in a while you'll find an exception to that.

 

[JustGeorge]

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good Sunday.
Last night, while battling insomnia, I had this crazy thought: what if RF stopped working (I hope it doesn't happen)? It could be for a number of reasons: government censorship, lack of funds, internet gets disconnected, alien invasion... Anyway, my though was, if RF stopped working, what would I have retained from my experience here?
Two things stood out:
1 - Despite all our differences in background and beliefs, we have more in common than things that set us apart. By the end of the day most of us want the same things and are looking for answers to the same questions.
2 - Even though religion has been dying a slow death and many say righteously so, we spend hours talking about it, debating different ideologies and their roles in our lives, looking for the answers to the most basic existential questions, looking for a meaning in our lives. This means so much that many of the members here are non religious or atheists, but here they are, talking about religion and sharing beliefs.
So, religion might continue it's downward spiral a while longer, until it gets it's final blow that I believe will be politically induced, but we'll have to wait and see. But as long as it lasts, religion still matters, a lot.

What would you have retained from your experience in this forum?

I'm not sure I see a decline in religion, but I do definitely see a decline in organized religion, and I see changes to religious vocabulary.

People are getting away from the books, and trying to find God elsewhere. Though, they're changing that term, too. For many, especially those in Christian cultures, God is often seen as some old guy in the clouds somewhere, dispensing judgement or stirring miracles(or not, when he should be). In other words, someone outside of themselves, and outside of nature. For many people, this God has become mythical, and people are turning to the 'Universe' or 'Source', or sometimes just 'Love'(just for a few examples).
.
New religious movements are emerging. Neopaganism has great examples of that, as many people turn to their ancestors, or the deities of the land in general, as we try to find some connection and meaning in a world that often feels increasingly disconnected. We try to recover the stories that are often untold, and make them relevant in our lives again. The Abrahamic traditions have the Baha'i faith added to it, and there new movements within old traditions as well. The Unitarian Universalists seem to have made somewhat of a spirituality out of their liberal views.

We are adapting. Younger folks may not identify with their religion(and may not even call it that) like their grandparents, but there are still signs of spirituality(I think in the long term, spirituality will largely replace the word religion as well). I think there is just a big 'push' to be rid of traditions or beliefs a person may have felt oppressed by for many. I sometimes think, though, that if some of the 'oppressed' push others a bit too hard, they may 'oppress' others, and I am curious to see how that affects religion in a few generations...

If religious forums ends, I will miss my interactions, and I will miss some of the people. But, not being able to afford a constant flow of internet during my adult life(and going without it for years at a time), I don't make it a practice to get too attached to anything on the internet.

 

[PureX]

Religiosity is as old as humanity, itself. It will die when we die. And not before. However, it is also constantly changing ... slowly, but persistently. So it will not be in the far future what it is, today.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I hope once in a while you'll find an exception to that.

People can agree. Many things are subjective, so causing someone to agree through argument can be hit or miss.