Will humans ever evolve past needing religion?

Question

Usually, the more secular a culture is, the more open-minded and tolerant it will be. Conversely, fundamentalism tends to cause cultures to have less equality & fewer freedoms (like the Islamic theocracies where women have no freedom, and people can be stoned to death for speaking their minds).
Will humanity ever evolve past a place where people need religion? Much like a child believes in Santa Claus, until they reach the age when they realize their parents left that bicycle under the tree, humanity seems to still be in its infancy -- when will we collectively reach the age where we realize that Santa doesn't exist, that we are responsible for our own actions and future?
Or is it possible that humanity will slide backwards, de-evolving & becoming more ingorant & violent until we have destroyed ourselves and our planet completely?

Answer 1

Atheism has doubled in popularity in America in the last few decades. And statistics clearly show that more fundamentalist countries don't do as well. With any luck, this recent trend will continue and human beings will be free from their need for religion.

Answer 2

Open-minded? How can someone who has no intention of ever giving religion a fair hearing talk about open-mindedness?

Why is it that most of the anti-religion comments I read use the most extreme examples of religion to talk about how bad all spiritual values are? I don't do that - I didn't call you a nihilistic perverted hedonistic Satanist. Nor would I have even thougth it except to make the point that not all believers (even fundamentalists) are raging terrorists. You can verify that from my previous posts. And not all secular humanists are heinous, evil-seeking pagans.

Note that without a set of ethics (read: religious values) humanity would have destroyed itself long before now. Because that is the fundamental flaw in your argument. You start with the misconception that humans are good. We are not inherently bad. We are inherently selfish. And when ones selfish desires conflict with another ones equally selfish desires, that is the flash point of confrontation in our world. It is human nature and it is unavoidable without a higher purpose and a higher set of principles. And that can only come from God. Deny it if you must - but look around you and see if I speak the truth or not.

Answer 3

Humanity is sliding backwards.
Ethics are at a low and crime is as high as ever.
People will always follow some perticular religion, cult or faith no matter how backwards it is.
These 3rd world and middle eastern countries use religion to power over thier poeple. Much like Christianity in the middle ages.
Keeping a group of people under control by false beliefes is an incredibly low but intellegent idea.
Because men are ignorant and always will be this so called "Eutopia" will never be met.
I also think that since man has so little control over his life at times he needs faith and religion. Anyone of us could walk out the door and get shot or ran over today. We know this, so we put our trust in God that it won't happen.
Good debate!

Answer 4

I really hope so, only in the sense that religion is an organized attempt to confine spiritual beliefs to what a selected few deem proper. The Catholics are right, no...the Muslims...no, the Hindus...what many followers of a religion don't consider is that their beliefs don't have to be mandated by anyone else. Organized religion is, and has always been, more about politics than spirituality...I don't think mankind will ever evolve past a need to believe in something greater than we are because I doubt we'll ever become that scientific as a species (too bad, but I digress)...

I certainly believe in something greater than we are, but I don't need anyone else to tell me how to believe or what exactly did or didn't happen...I hope that we evolve past needing organized religion, but not beyond spirituality...it's as simple as asking orthodox followers why they believe what they do...most will say it's a "feeling" that they have...sure, I have that "feeling" too, but when it gets specific and they are asked why they believe the bible, the only possible answer is that someone told them to believe it...your feelings don't need to be validated by a history book (and a flawed one at that)...your belief should be enough...

Answer 5

This is a silly question.

There is such a thing as trying to get too much intellectualism out of an insufficient amount of information. You appear to be a young man that would like to be respected for their intellect, but the fact of the matter is that there is still so much that you don't know. The need to appear to be sure of yourself (or the arrogant ego that often accompanies the teenaged intellectual philosophy) forces you to cleave to this young, underdeveloped logic for dear life as though it was the stuff the Universe was made of. In the process, you lose contact with reality and all of its inhabitants, and you start to look like a funny animal man thing that feels pain every time the sun shines in its eyes (comes from a lack of going out socially and a loss of the desire to maintain an acceptable physical condition (because you don't believe you have to impress anyone or 'live by their standards')).

The fat and skinny of it is: from the sound of things, you don't appear to be ready for the Trials yet, young Padawan. Keep trying. Mabye next year. Until then, try to keep out of trouble.

Answer 6

I truly believe that humans use religion as a means to connect with something more than themselves. Religion requires alot of faith because most aspects of religion are intangible. It gives humans a reason to live and something to strive for in life. But the recent trend has actually been away from religion and towards spirituality, which is much more generalized. In spirituality, a person builds a belief system and possibly uses some ritual to create meaning in his or her life. It's still a way to connect with something more, but it's more fit to a person's personality and value system.

Answer 7

Humans want to be led. They want someone to tell them what to do, how to think, how to feel, and how to behave. Humans don't want to think. Thinking leads to doing something and humans don't want to do much, so they turn over the responsibility for their reality over to religious figures, religions, and leaders. Some of these leaders realize the power that they have over these people and use that power for their own selfish ends. Since humans don't question anything that has the word "GOD" attached to it, these leaders use that against them in a variety of ways. In order for humans to get past the need to be lead, they'd have to realize that this is what is actually happening. Again, that requires thought, which again leads to action. Two things humans do not wish to do. You want proof of that? Look at the world around you.

Answer 8

I think people will always need religion. They will always need to think that there is more to life, that someone is watching out for them, controlling their detsiny.
Personally, I prefer to focus on this life - and to try to accept some responisibility for the huge destructive impact humans are having on our planet.
Ultimately I don't think things will be much different in 100/500/1000 years time - the rich will be richer, the poor poorer and the environment will be £ucked. And people will still be blaming the devil for atheists like me.

Answer 9

If They've Got Any Spiritual Sense They Will Never Evolve Past Needing Their Creator!......

Answer 10

Some of us are working on it. Ever heard of critical mass? It's basically a neat way of saying 100 monkeys theory. If enough people raise their level of consciousness and when that consciousness reaches, say 20% of humanity, then there will be a shift, and this raised consciousness will catch on and everyone else will start being more conscious.