this question is for atheists only: when do you think religion and faith will be eradicated for good?

Question

my opinion is that it will not happen within this century, but soon...science and reason have religion on the run and have for the last five hundred years...its only a matter of time.

Answer 1

Never.

Well, I'll hedge a little - when the human species dies out, then religion and faith will be eradicated.

That's not to say that religion won't take other forms before then. The crude and barbaric fables accepted by imbeciles as "religion" today will eventually be thrown down and replaced by others. "Christianity" itself has hardly remained the same from century to century. Today's "conservatives" would've been considered "crazy liberals" by the standards of the generation previous, and that's the way it's always been: progress happens, in spite of the best efforts of The Reaction to stop it.

So, the eventual eradication of superstitious, dogmatic religion is at least a goal to which we can tend; but to expect it within our lifetimes is only slightly less insane than to expect The Rapture.

Answer 2

Well, completely -- never. There are still guys argueing the Earth is flat because the Bible says it is.

I have been an atheist for about 30 years and I have recently noticed a shift. There are a few cracks in the polls but that isn't the big thing. I suddenly see comedians willing to publicly ridicule religion, which was taboo for a long time. You hear others talking about it. I had mostly made it a point to keep it quiet because I felt so outnumbered. I don't see that now. Europe has had a dramatic swing in the last 50 years. And finally I see the fundies overplaying their hand to the point that they are causing problems for them selves. You want rid of Christianity, the best thing that can happen is for them to insist that it is incompatible with evolution and science because science always wins long term.

I think that when you get it going, it will happen relatively fast, maybe 30-50 years and it goes from 14% to 80% like it is in Sweden. I am not sure we have really started the slide yet, but we have kicked some of the dirt loose.

Answer 3

Well, to answer part of your question, I believe that there is a time limit on prophecies. According to some Christian interpretations, Armaggedon is supposed to take place with in a gerenation's time from the reestablishment of the Jewish state. There are disputes on how long a generation is supposed to be but either way, it's a time limited belief. Eventually, followers will have to trade it in for another belief when it doesn't come to pass. In the late 1800's there was an event referred to as the Great Disappointment when a pastor lead his whole congregation to believe that the world was ending on a specific day. They gave away their homes and belongings and gathered on a hill in waiting for the Rapture only to end up in poverty. It's not too far off from drinking poisoned Cool Aid.

Answer 4

Never. The religious have no interest in fact. To them facts and logically thinking about their religion are irrelevant. Biblical scholars have already torn the "facts" in the Bible to shreds. And of course believers do not look at any of the evidence that scholars uncover. They prefer to think that they are going to have eternal life in heaven. They cannot face the fact that death is the end. Due to the emotional appeal of religion, it is curse that will be around for a long time. Once a religion becomes a mythology in the eyes of believers, somebody comes up with another illogical belief system. It just goes on and on.

Answer 5

Two things....

1) What makes you so sure that only an atheist can answer this question or any other religious question and give you a correct answer beyond that which you will only accept?

2) There has been so many nations and empires who has opposed Christianity that has come and gone and still Christianity remains.

The Caesers and the Pharoahs and others alike that once opposed Christianity are now a thing of the past as Christianity continues to this day.

There will be politicians yet to come who will oppose Christianity and like so many before them they too will fail.

The ACLU will one day be done with but I'm sure that there will be another like it to take it's place and in time it too will crumble.

What I am trying to say here is that you can come against and defy God with your science BS and your evolution poppycock theories all you want to because in the end it will only prove that you too just like so many others before you who has tried will fail time and time again for the simple reason is that you absolutely can not oppose God and win.

Answer 6

I don't think that science will ever be able to either prove that there is no god or to provide a complete and sound explanation for the Universe (apart from 42). I don't think that religion will ever be eradicated for good - but then, neither am I bothered because of this, without religious people life would be quite boring.

Answer 7

Never since there will always be easily led sheeple that need to deal with complex parts of reality by explaining them as magic.

sheeple = people + sheep + IQ less than 100

which i might add that 98 is the average score for the US...and dont bash me for saying that, I'm an American, I just cant stand all the people trying to impress a set of 2000 year old values on me...I dont think we're the same society or culture in any way, shape, or form. We update everything else to fit the times, why hang on to outdated dogma that, from an objective point of view, has caused most of the major AND minor conflicts in the last 2000 years. Just doesnt seem worth all that hate. religions say they're tolerant, but they arent. If you dont agree, you're wrong, and depending on the religion, you will burn in hell or the true believers will kill you. And you know what? Its impossible to have a rational debate with them, because Religion could NEVER do ANYTHING that wasnt in the name of righteousness and good. And by that line of reasoning, they are always right, and we are always wrong.

oh well...but the day all religions destroy each other will be a good day in my book.

Answer 8

I don't think it will happen. The proclivity to have faith in the supernatural is programed into our brains by evolution. It is too hard to overcome this instinct to expect more than a small percentage of the human population to be able to achieve it, although, with education, this percentage will grow.

I think the divide it creates will only deepen until both atheists and theists learn how to accept each other's outlook.

Answer 9

I hope it will never be eradicated, which implies force being applied, but I'm certain it will fade away over time. I agree that it probably will not be this century, but the day will come when the religions for which people are willing to kill and die today will be looked upon with the same piteous amusement with which we now look upon the mythologies of ancient Egypt and Greece.

Answer 10

Never. There will always be a religion of some sort for people to follow. And why would we want to eradicate religion? I have no problem with people believing in a god or gods. That is their choice. But I don't like it when religion plays a part in our laws and government.