Do you think religion will eventually die out?

Question

I've heard it said that the number of athiests are steadily increasing.
What do you guys think?

Answer 1

I hope so. But I think the human race will kill itself before then.

Answer 2

A 1995 survey attributed to Encyclopædia Britannica indicates that the non-religious are about 14.7% of the world's population, and atheists around 3.8%. Of course, these numbers vary drastically when looking at individual countries.

Will religion ever decrease in popularity? Very likely. Just look at countries outside the U.S., such as UK where 39% of their populace doesn't believe in God, vs. 5-10% of the U.S. population*. But while religion may decrease, I don't think it will ever disappear, especially in the U.S. Our population is too attached to magical thinking. It's too exciting to believe in the Loch Ness Monster, space aliens, NDE, Big Foot, ghosts, angels, ESP, heaven and God to give it up. It's fun to be a kid and not give up childlish wonder!

"The loss of religious faith among the most civilized portion of the race is a step from childishness toward maturity."
— Charles Eliot Norton

Answer 3

I practice a religion that is 5,000 years old. No, religion will always be a part of the human need. It may change or alter, but not die out completely. Smile and be happy.

Answer 4

So long as the "Big Mystery" of why we exist remains unanswered (probably will stay that way forever since there likely is no answer we will ever be able to grasp in the slightest way) there will always be religion in some form or another.

Answer 5

I don't think it ever will. If it does it won't happen during our life time. The world has crumbled around itself, froze, flooded, burned etc. Still ignorance persists in breeding among us. "Let's not investigate; lets look up at the sky maybe the answers will fall from there". History has a way of repeating itself. That alone should be proof that there is nothing "Divine". Only us people "flexing" our minds.

Answer 6

The numbers of believers are also increasing at a huge rate- not in the US. The belief in God will not end.

Answer 7

I do not know if the spiritual part of religion will die out.

But, it is getting harder and harder for the fundamentalists to ignore the science that proves their beliefs wrong.

As science progresses and people learn to think for themselves organised religions are getting squeezed.

I suspect that atheism is going to be the fastest growing belief system soon.

Answer 8

Well even religious people say except for God, everything has a beginning and an end, Religion had a beginning so shall it have an end.

Answer 9

Yes according to the bible in Revelation 17 and 18.
compare all religion with a whore and the whore is destroyed.

Answer 10

It's hard to imagine an era when there won't be different sects of religion. I dunno if atheist are increasing. I can see where it would be feasible as science makes more and more discoveries that belief in God could dwindle. Of course, that doesn't make it OK for Christians to continue blindly in their faith when science tells us otherwise.

Answer 11

Heavens, no. People will always seek a supernatural explaination for many things. Whether taught or through their own choice.