What if there was no religion? ...
I think people have always a religion. If it is not around Bible God, it is around something else, person himself, Xi Jinping, Fauci, some modern climate prophet....
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What if there was no religion? ...
What if there was no religion? What if everyone was an atheist? How would the world look like? Would it be better or worse for planet Earth? For humanity?
Allow me to frame this question in two ways.
First, suppose that society and homo sapiens developed without religion. How would've that looked like? Is it possible for a being to evolve intelligently and remain non superstitious? Where would we be now?
Second, suppose that the next generation decides that religion isn't for them and atheism becomes the majority "religion". How would the near future look? Where would society go if humanity began discarding religion on mass from this point on?
I think it's certainly possible to 'evolve' intelligently without religion. The problem with most religions (or any worldview) is dogmatic beliefs. Once you get rid of dogmatic beliefs all would be better.What if there was no religion? What if everyone was an atheist? How would the world look like? Would it be better or worse for planet Earth? For humanity?
Allow me to frame this question in two ways.
First, suppose that society and homo sapiens developed without religion. How would've that looked like? Is it possible for a being to evolve intelligently and remain non superstitious? Where would we be now?
Atheism itself doesn't tell you anyting apart from the belief in a god. If they would all become secular humanists (or someting similar) then the future would look bright.Second, suppose that the next generation decides that religion isn't for them and atheism becomes the majority "religion". How would the near future look? Where would society go if humanity began discarding religion on mass from this point on?
I don't have a religion.I think people have always a religion. If it is not around Bible God, it is around something else, person himself, Xi Jinping, Fauci, some modern climate prophet....
How is atheism the result of theism? How are you defining atheist?First, there would be no atheists. A-theism is a result of theism. And it seems there is a way of humans to have no religion as there are (very few) tribes in the Amazon who don't have a concept of gods.
Maybe society would begin to look like Scandinavia....Hmm. Organized religion is easy to picture being banned.
All spirituality is harder to imagine. But let's go with that. Is it even possible?
What if there was no religion? What if everyone was an atheist? How would the world look like? Would it be better or worse for planet Earth? For humanity?
Allow me to frame this question in two ways.
First, suppose that society and homo sapiens developed without religion. How would've that looked like? Is it possible for a being to evolve intelligently and remain non superstitious? Where would we be now?
Second, suppose that the next generation decides that religion isn't for them and atheism becomes the majority "religion". How would the near future look? Where would society go if humanity began discarding religion on mass from this point on?
Yes, there are non theistic religions but someone opposed to those wouldn't be an atheist. You can't be an a-philatelist without stamps or the idea of stamps existing.How is atheism the result of theism? How are you defining atheist?
Religion doesn't necessarily involve theism, nor does spirituality.
There would probably be a lot less scientific illiteracy.
I agree. Any intelligent being would form a hypothesis how something is happening and naturally most of them would be false. That's a basis for personal spirituality. Religion is when false hypothesis are crystallised into a shared, cultural, false belief.
If there was no religion, then there wouldn't be any atheists. Atheists exit in opposition to God, its how they draw attention to themselves on religious forums. Without any religion or God concept to oppose then there wouldn't be an atheist identity. In fact, the atheist type of personality would probably begin to suspect that there is a God and they would become religious!What if there was no religion? What if everyone was an atheist? How would the world look like? Would it be better or worse for planet Earth? For humanity?
Allow me to frame this question in two ways.
First, suppose that society and homo sapiens developed without religion. How would've that looked like? Is it possible for a being to evolve intelligently and remain non superstitious? Where would we be now?
Second, suppose that the next generation decides that religion isn't for them and atheism becomes the majority "religion". How would the near future look? Where would society go if humanity began discarding religion on mass from this point on?
Perhaps having religions helped humanity to progress but perhaps it didn't - how would we know? Just as nationhood, monarchies, cultures, and languages might have done so too - in forming more cohesion and stability within societies. But one can hardly dispute that these were often involved in conflict and division too. I suspect that religions were and are just an inevitable process that humanity had to go through - due to our own intellectual development as a species. And as pointed out, religions are just another ideology that can bring people together or divide them, but at least some of these others are more amenable to democratic processes - us choosing which system we prefer rather than having any one imposed upon us. With this latter often being slyly done as 'education' for children.What if there was no religion? What if everyone was an atheist? How would the world look like? Would it be better or worse for planet Earth? For humanity?
Allow me to frame this question in two ways.
First, suppose that society and homo sapiens developed without religion. How would've that looked like? Is it possible for a being to evolve intelligently and remain non superstitious? Where would we be now?
Second, suppose that the next generation decides that religion isn't for them and atheism becomes the majority "religion". How would the near future look? Where would society go if humanity began discarding religion on mass from this point on?
A-thism isn't anti-theism. It's a simple lack of belief.Yes, there are non theistic religions but someone opposed to those wouldn't be an atheist. You can't be an a-philatelist without stamps or the idea of stamps existing.
I think people have always a religion. If it is not around Bible God, it is around something else, person himself, Xi Jinping, Fauci, some modern climate prophet....
We would default to reason-based policies, based on practical issues promoting human rights and the public good, rather than policies based on a hundred competing mythologies, promoting hundreds of different, impractical, divinely commanded rules and policies.Religions assume a higher power than the ego and man. This belief in a higher power allows the ego and man to submit to a higher collective authority. Without religion and any acceptance of a higher power, we would default to relative morality, with humans playing the role of god, with relative morality far less unifying.
Yet, comparing religious vs secular countries, the least religious countries consistently score at the top of freedom. happiness, equality, prosperity and public safety indices. There seems to be an inverse relationship between religion and peace, prosperity and happiness.A future without religion would look like a Mad Max movie with willful warlords preying on the weak and faithful. The weak are inhibited by higher powers; conscience, while the willful have no conscience besides their own lusts and greed; relative morality equals me first. Corporate greed is not part of any religion. It is part of relative morality.
So we need a Strong Leader and rigid hierarchy to prevent us from running amok?An analogy for the dynamic relationship between religion and culture is like the herding dog. The herding dog follows the orders of the Shepherd and carries these orders to the sheep. The sheep have a mind of their own, and wish to graze, with the herding dog trying to to keep the herd safe and drive them to fertile ground, where they are then free to be sheep; culture. Without the shepherd of religion, the herding dog has no sense of direction and he and the sheep begins to follow their own instincts. he preys upon his flock which is then scattered.
Where do you come up with this stuff? Atheists exist in opposition of something they don't believe in? There's an atheist 'identity'?If there was no religion, then there wouldn't be any atheists. Atheists exit in opposition to God, its how they draw attention to themselves on religious forums. Without any religion or God concept to oppose then there wouldn't be an atheist identity. In fact, the atheist type of personality would probably begin to suspect that there is a God and they would become religious!
If there was no religion, then there wouldn't be any atheists. Atheists exit in opposition to God, its how they draw attention to themselves on religious forums. Without any religion or God concept to oppose then there wouldn't be an atheist identity. In fact, the atheist type of personality would probably begin to suspect that there is a God and they would become religious!
It all goes back to thermodynamics in the human brain. We want answers and entertainment, but we don't like to exert. If you don't change that, then you change nothing. You can take away all atheism or make everyone atheist. It will be the same situation as what we have now or worse. At least right now we have both religious people and people that disagree with religion. That generates a lot of discomfort, hence a lot of thought. Being uncomfortable with people around you -- that drives you to overcome your thermodynamic slumber.What if there was no religion? What if everyone was an atheist? How would the world look like? Would it be better or worse for planet Earth? For humanity?
Allow me to frame this question in two ways.
First, suppose that society and homo sapiens developed without religion. How would've that looked like? Is it possible for a being to evolve intelligently and remain non superstitious? Where would we be now?
Second, suppose that the next generation decides that religion isn't for them and atheism becomes the majority "religion". How would the near future look? Where would society go if humanity began discarding religion on mass from this point on?
We would default to reason-based policies, based on practical issues promoting human rights and the public good, rather than policies based on a hundred competing mythologies, promoting hundreds of different, impractical, divinely commanded rules and policies.
Religion promotes tribalism. Historically, religious societies have a poor track record -- of repression, divisiveness and war. A Christian Republic would be no better than one of the Islamic Republics currently in the news.
But there are plenty of non-civilized cultures even today. They all seem to have their religions -- though some hunter-gatherer cultures don't divide it into a separate cultural category.I believe religion developed after civilisation began. Certainly early modern humans (cro magnon) showed no signs of religious belief.